A family of polar and grizzly bear hybrids, or grolars, in Canada’s western Arctic — which all started with a “pretty strange” female polar bear — is “quite rare,” according to a new study. The research paper, published last week in the journal Conservation Genetics Resources, used a new tool to look at samples from … Read more
The highly contagious bird flu has been found in the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, a UK overseas territory accessible only by ship. It has been found in fur and elephant seal populations for the first time in the region. The strain was first detected in brown skua birds on Bird Island in South Georgia … Read more
A polar bear in one of the northernmost communities in Alaska has died after contracting bird flu, per local media reports. The case is being described as the first such polar bear death caused by the H5N1 virus, according to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. The bear was found near Utqiagvik in October of … Read more
