What makes Polar bears prefer the cold as opposed to other bears?
In: Biology
Predators goes where the food are.
Predators that have think white fur have an easier time hunting in the areas than a brown one.
A genetic mutation of the fur colour gene of a brown bear was the “first” polar bear. The white fured bear was better adapted to the white envoirment and mated, passing on the white fur genes more succesfully than the brown counterparts.
With the succes the polar bears could venture futher north to rich hunting grounds seperating them from the normal brown bear population, small adaptations like a larger body and more enlongated snout where favored and thus those traits slowly dominated.
However, the 2 specieses are not that far apart and can still interbred, and more and more brown-polarbear mating is occuring as the ice melts and the polar bears are going further south.
As it stands now, it looks grim for the polar bears as they cant adapt fast enough to the chaging climate and could become an endanger species realitively quick. – The new hybrid species are on the rise though, but the general bear population is in rapid decline 🙁
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