Could a polar bear mate with a grizzly bear?

Just curious.


:D


Because they mate lions %26amp; tigers, horses %26amp; donkeys, why not grizzly bears %26amp; polar bears? They are even more closely related than the others, aren't they?

Could a polar bear mate with a grizzly bear?
Apparently yes. See the link below.
Reply:Well some scientists found a bear that was part grizzly bear part polar bear and is trying on deciding to name it either the prizzley bear or the Golar Bear. So to answer your question yes they can mate!!
Reply:i guess...
Reply:Yes. But they couldn't produce children, That is the distinction of species. If they can produce offspring, they are in the same species, with the exception of horses and donkeys, but mules cannot mate (with effect) with anything, including other mules.
Reply:Some people have mentioned reproductive isolation as a characteristic that distinguishes one species from the other. This definition refers to only ONE of the many species concepts, namely, the biological species concept.


In fact, the application of this concept has restrictions and is not useful in all cases. Many "species" interbreed normally in nature (this has been recorded both in genetically similar species such as domestic cat- wild cat, many canids, etc., but also between less closely related ones such as whales belonging to different genera which were considered as more distant.) The outcome of these matings is usually not fertile because their chromosomes cannot match during gamete production, but they're otherwise healthy animals.


As others have said, one such polar-grizzly hybrid was recorded recently. This is the first record for wild animals, but interspecific matings are very common among captive animals that live together with rather "unnatural" companions, and that's not news.








And _please_, human races are just constructs and not subspecies, and of course they're not different species, so there's nothing comparable about that!
Reply:The are compatible species wise, but whether they will, or not remains to be seen.
Reply:Yes then you would have a:





Pizzly or maybe a Grilar
Reply:Yes they have. There was a recent report on TV about a recent sighting of a polar/grizzly mix.
Reply:Absolutely NOT.. they are not of the same DNA.. not the same chromosomes, etc
Reply:yes if his drunk lol
Reply:Yes, they can mate. Polar bears and grizzly bears are both bears, so it's like breeding two types of bears. People do it with dogs all the time. They are very related, and you are right that they are more closely related than lions/tigers and horses/donkeys.
Reply:i guess!
Reply:They are rare....but they just found one just a couple of weeks ago.
Reply:ahhhhh........ it just like mate with different race, right? If White can mate with black, black can mate with asian and asian can mate with white, then Polar bear can mate with grizzly bear for sure. :)
Reply:theyre both bears!
Reply:Below is hallowed_are_the_ori's answer.. I think it is wonderful... It is absolutely right.. YES, BUT THEY COULND"T PRODUCE CHILDREN... You are right hallowed_are_the_ori ,,,, only humans' produce Children!!!! LOL








Yes. But they couldn't produce children, That is the distinction of species. If they can produce offspring, they are in the same species, with the exception of horses and donkeys, but mules cannot mate (with effect) with anything, including other mules.
Reply:yeah, the prizzley bear is dangerous! Have you seen a Zorse? Its a Zebra Horse... its awesome!
Reply:i nnever thought of that maybe u should contact your local science institute and check out
Reply:Yes, and they currently do
Reply:Yup but they spend so much time arguing over who pitches and who catches its not worth it
Reply:yes just recently it was shown that a grizzly and polar bear did mate in nature and yes they are genetically very close
Reply:yes they can mate because both are bears, but the offspring is more likely to be sterile because they are different types of bears.
Reply:yes. They recently shot a polar bear/grizzly bear mix in Alaska. Look it up on the net.
Reply:I don't see why not.
Reply:From the National Geographic





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 (pictured at left), a 65-year-old hunter from Idaho, shot the bear April 16 on the southern tip of Banks Island (see Northwest Territories map), the CanWest News Service reports.





Wildlife officials seized the bear after noticing its white fur was interspersed with brown patches. It also had long claws, a concave facial profile, and a humped back, which are characteristic 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."





—John Roach





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Reply:You creep
Reply:Yes,but it could get a little hairy, LOL! just joking. YES,they could,


because they are both bears,BUT it might be difficult with their attiudes that they have. (probely not used to mating with a different breed of bear.) Good Luck ~Moneydudeguy~
Reply:What's the point?


You're either gonna get a brown bear or a white bear...


lol