The origin of polar bears

A group of experts from the German Center for Research on Biodiversity and Climate Change, in collaboration with the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), affirms that the polar bear appeared on Earth about 600,000 years ago. Enough time to adapt to the climatic conditions of an icy environment.

In this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to discover you what is the origin of polar bears so that you better know this curious animal that lives on our planet.

The research, which appears published in the journal Science, wonders what the future of this species may be. Experts believe that the arctic bear comes from a lineage of brown-haired bears, between 166,000 and 111,000 years old.

The investigation was based on the DNA analysis Nuclear of 19 specimens of polar bear, 18 specimens of brown bear and 7 of black bear. The result of these comparisons leaves no room for doubt: the polar bear and the brown bear have a common ancestor about 600,000 years ago.

In this way, the origin of the polar bear is much older than previously thought. The antiquity of this species,

600,000 years, suggests that the polar bear's ability to adapt to the environment around it was not as fast as previously thought. This means that the arctic bear is much more sensitive to the consequences of climate change than many experts believed.

A species that faces the glacial thaw and the disappearance of their habitat, and that it will be forced to colonize regions inhabited by human beings, but with conditions that can seriously damage the survival of this animal.

A species much older than I thought, and whose process of evolution and adaptation to the environment is slower than many scientists believed.