What's the word for a bear that's half polar bear and half grizzly? No one's come up with a definitive name yet (grizzlar?) but a hybrid animal of this type was shot and killed recently by an Inuit hunter in northern Canada.

The killing of mutant, however, is raising suspicions among scientists that climate change might be forcing polar bears and grizzlies into smaller areas, raising the frequency of hybrid offspring.

Like Us on Facebook

That this dead animal was a grizzly-polar bear hybrid, otherwise known as a half-breed, was confirmed by bear experts. In this case, the half-breed probably had a polar bear for a mother and a grizzly bear for a father, said Dr. Ian Stirling, a researcher for the Canadian Wildlife Service based on genetic tests.

Locals call this type of bear either a "grolar" or a "prizzly." Grolar if the father is a grizzly and prizzly if dad is a polar bear. But there isn't one word for both types of mutants.

This mutant is so rare only a half-dozen or so kills have been confirmed over the last decade. This particular bear was shot by an Inuit hunter named Didji Ishalook. CWS said Ishalook's mutant was shot in accordance with laws that allow the Inuit to practice subsistence hunting.

Ishalook has skinned the bear and the fur is sitting in his freezer. He said me might send the fur to a taxidermist.

He said he first thought he had shot a small polar bear near Arviat on Hudson Bay.  He described his kill as looking like a polar bear "but it's got brown paws and big claws like a grizzly. And the shape of a grizzly head."

Scientists describe hybrids as usually lighter in color and often have darker fur rings around their eyes. The hybrid's paws are often dark, especially around the toes. Their claws are typically longer than polar bears' since grizzlies have much longer claws. The hybrid's fur is generally somewhat darker than a polar bear's.

Some scientists believe climate change is playing a role in the increased contact between the two different species.

They said recent sightings of hybrid bears have coincided with the faster warming of the Arctic. It seems grizzlies in Alaska and Canada are heading north as their original homes become warmer, bringing them into more frequent contact with polar bears living along the coastline.  Polar bears are now spending more time on land as the Arctic ice decreases.

Tagshalf polar bear, half grizzly, grolar, prizzly, Canada, Inuit