The strange hybrid of a Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) and Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) is known by popular media as either the Pizzly or Grolar bear. Hybrids are rare in the wild, but not so unusual in captivity, which often causes the illusion of frequency. Previous to 2006, Pizzlies were being born in captivity, but there had been no evidence displayed to prove the possibility of wild Pizzlies. As far as we were concerned, the rarity that few had been able to see was not natural in the wild. The main reason for this assumption was that there was no sufficient reason for them to believe that the Polar bear and Grizzly bears’ distribution overlapped. All updated evidence showed that the two species would never mate because their populations were too far apart. This all changed in 2006, when suddenly viable evidence proving that these two monstrous species’ distributions had overlapped in recent years came to light. National Geographic reported:
May 11, 2006—DNA analysis has confirmed that a bear shot in the Canadian Arctic last month is a half-polar bear, half-grizzly hybrid. While the two bear species have interbred in zoos, this is the first evidence of a wild polar bear-grizzly offspring.
Jim Martell, a 65-year-old hunter from Idaho, shot the bear April 16 on the southern tip of Banks Island, the CanWest News Service reports.
Wildlife officials seized the bear after noticing that its white fur was interspersed with brown patches. It also had long claws, a concave facial profile, and a humped back, which are characteristics of a grizzly.
Now the genetic tests have confirmed that the hybrid’s father was a grizzly and its mother was a polar bear. “I don’t think anyone expected it to actually happen in the wild,” said Ian Stirling, a polar bear expert with the Canadian Wildlife Service in Edmonton.
Polar bears and grizzlies require an extended mating ritual to reproduce, Stirling said. Both live by themselves in large, open habitats.
To prevent wasting their eggs, females ovulate only after spending several days with a male, Stirling explained, “Then they mate several times over several days.”
In other words, the mating between the polar bear and grizzly was more than a chance encounter. “That’s what makes it quite interesting,” he added.
Stirling says the hybrid has no official name, though locals have taken to calling it a “pizzly” and a “grolar bear”.
I think the keywords in this article are “more than a chance encounter,” which means, in other words, there have been other cases of this that have gone undocumented and there will be more. While this was and is the case, this so-called ‘prophecy’ would not be fulfilled for almost 4 more years. The case above was special only because it was the first documented report of a Pizzly. The second case in 2010 was unique for an absolutely fantastic reason: it was a second generation Pizzly. The CanWest News Service reports:
Sunday, May 2, 2010:
ULUKHAKTOK, N.W.T.—An odd looking bear shot a few weeks ago by an Inuit hunter in the high Arctic is a rare grizzly-polar bear cross, scientists have confirmed.
Moreover, the animal—with the creamy white fur of a polar bear, but with the big head, long claws and ring of brown hair around its hind common to the grizzly—may be the first recorded second generation “grolar bear” found in the wild, said the N.W.T. Environment and Natural Resources Department in a news release.
“A wildlife genetics laboratory has since conducted DNA testing on the samples, and the results of the testing point to the animal being a second generation hybrid bear which resulted from the mating of a polar/grizzly bear female with a male grizzly bear,” said the release.
Hunter David Kuptana shot the bear on April 8 while it roamed the sea ice just west of Ulukhaktok, on Victoria Island.
“The animal appeared unusual to the hunter and he provided samples from the bear to Environment and Natural Resources officials for testing to determine the species,” said the environment department.
Polar bear-grizzly hybrids—known as either “pizzly” or “grolar” bears—are very rare.
Although several suspected sightings have been made in that past few years, only one hybrid—shot by a U.S. Hunter in 2006—had been confirmed in the wild.
A warming climate has prompted hungry grizzly bears to move north, encroaching on polar bear turf, according to experts. That migration means the two types of bears are expected to come in contact more often, competing for territory and, potentially, mating.
This “second-generation” Pizzly means that there is positive confirmation of at least 3 to ever live in the wild. There are of course more than 3, but, for now, we can only positively identify 3. Now, you may be wondering how the Pizzly is at all pertinent to cryptozoology. I can give two reasons. (1) It was a former zoological conundrum and, like the okapi, can teach cryptozoologists and zoologists alike to be more open minded and (2) the Pizzly is a suspect in a current cryptozoological mystery.
MacFarlane’s bear is a specimen that passed through many hands before finding its current residence in the Smithsonian Institute’s storage unit. The only remnants of the original bear shot in 1864 are a skull and off-white pelt. Many theorists have pressed the theory that MacFarlane’s bear was a very early specimen of Pizzly. The case never ceases to fascinate cryptozoologists or anyone else that chooses to take up the case. I myself have several pages of unpublished research in regards to the topic (all of which will be published in my upcoming compilation). I would encourage all of those that have found themselves in a state of fascination while considering the prospect of the Pizzly to commit to further research.
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