According to a study published on Thursday, a group of genetically distinct and functionally isolated polar bears that do not depend on sea ice for survival in the south-east of Greenland were discovered.
Where it was once believed that all polar bears depended on the rapid decline of sea ice to survive, the new group discovered in Greenland occupies an area that closely resembles the projected conditions of the late 21st century for the High Arctic. , the authors wrote in the article published by Science. . Bones exist in an area with an annual ice-free period that is often more than 100 days longer than the estimated fasting threshold set for polar bears around the world, the authors continued.
Polar bears are just polar bears. Happy International Polar Bear Day! 💙 pic.twitter.com/m9bNMX5HQc
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Polar bears in this unique region spend most of the year catching seals on hunting platforms created by the freshwater glacial mix, the article continued. “This was just a totally unexpected find,” lead author Kristin Laidre told the Washington Post. “.
Bears live in a deep remote part of Greenland where their exposure to other members of their species is limited, the Washington Post reported. Researchers are currently unsure whether the bears reached the remote area, but their data suggest they have been there for hundreds of years given their unique genetic structure, the medium noted. (RELATED: Bad-A ** cat gets shot by an arrow, believed to have fired the arrow himself)
The group is the most genetically different from the other 19 known species of polar bears, Reuters noted. Apparently, bears “live on the edge of what we believe is physiologically possible,” said study co-author Beth Shapiro.