53- Grolar Bears

We're going to explore a particular kind of hybridisation today- the kind that produces grolar bears. As the name might suggest, this refers to the offspring of a grizzly bear and a polar bear. Its existence- and that of cases like it- also allow us to put something called the biological species concept under scrutiny... Sources for this episode: Cain, M. L., Bowman, W. D. and Hacker, S. D. (2011), Ecology (Second Edition). Sunderland, Massachusetts, Sinauer Associated Ltd. Callaway, E., New Scientist (2010), Neanderthal genome reveals interbreeding with humans (online) [Accessed 03/08/2021]. Campbell, N. A., Urry, L. A., Cain, M. L., Wasserman, S. A., Minorsky, P. V. and Reece, J. B. (2018), Biology: a global approach, 11th edition (Global Edition), Harlow, Pearson Education Limited. Cooke, F., Dingle, H., Hutchinson, S., McKay, G., Schodde, R., Tait, N. and Vogt, R. (2008), The Encyclopedia of Animals: A Complete Visual Guide (p.370). Sydney: Weldon Owen Pty Ltd. Wei-Haas, M., National Geographic (2018), Ancient Girl's Parents Were Two Different Human Species (online) [Accessed 03/08/2021]. Author unknown, BBC Newsround (2021), Have you ever heard of a 'pizzly' bear? (online) [Accessed 02/08/2021]. Author unknown, Understanding Evolution (berkeley.edu), (date unknown), Misconceptions about evolution (online) [Accessed 03/08/2021]. Author unknown, WWF (date unknown), Top 10 facts about polar bears (online) [Accessed 03/08/2021].