New pictures show how brown bears turn white 'due to inbreeding' on remote island [View all]

[Beringia]

https://siberiantimes.com/other/others/news/new-pictures-show-how-brown-bears-turn-white-due-to-inbreeding-on-remote-island/





Professor emeritus Noriyuki Ohtaishi, of Hokkaido University in Japan, has also suggested that the change of colouring is likely the result of isolation and mutation. The colour range is wider - from almost black to silver as if the species cannot decide what is right for them. It tends to be the upper part of the bear body that turns while or silver, more than the lower parts.

Igor Bobyr, a state inspector at reserve, said researchers from mainland Russia have concluded the ‘white bears’ are ‘a lot less aggressive’ than other populations of the animals. The Kuril bears have a ready supply of salmon in island rivers and no predators apart from poachers. It is believed that the Japanese - who earlier controlled these islands - may have introduced brown bears to the Kurils. The popular is isolated from Russia’s other brown bear populations.





Related, Dozens of hungry polar bears have invaded the remote Artic region of Novaya Zemlya Feb 2019