A Changing World Is Creating These Hybrid Animals
A beluga whale is on the left and narwhal is on the right.
This is a beluga-narwhal hybrid. In this artist's interpretation, the hybrid has some narwhal coloring and the forehead has less of a bump. In the late 1980s, a whale skull thought to be that of a beluga-narwhal mix was found in west Greenland. Local hunters say they have also spotted the hybrid.
A polar bear is on the left and a grizzly bear is on the right.
This is polar-brown bear hybrid. The hybrid has splotches of brown, a more blunt snout, and a hump similar to that of the grizzly bear. The ears are also smaller than the grizzly's. As sea ice melts, polar bears will spend more time on shore where they will meet grizzly bears, some of which are moving north because of warming temperatures.
A polar bear cub is on the left and a grizzly bear cub is on the right.
This is polar-grizzly bear cub hybrid. The hybrid looks like a polar bear cub but with some brown fur.
A harbor seal is on the left and a ringed seal is on the right.
This is a harbor-ringed seal hybrid. The hybrid's fur has more spots than the harbor seal, but is darker. Its body shape is similar to the ringed seal.
A harbor seal pup is on the left and a ringed seal pup is on the right.
This is a harbor-ringed seal pup hybrid. The hybrid is mostly white, with some of the hooded seal pup's coloration.
A harbour porpoise is on the left and and dall's porpoise is on the right.
A harbour-dall's Hybrid. The hybrid is darker and its hypothetical size is somewhere in between the two species. As harbour porpoises begin to move north from the temperate waters in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, they will begin to mingle with dall's porpoises. Several hybrid porpoises have been documented off the coast of British Colombia.
A southern flying squirrel is on the left and north flying squirrel is on the right.
A southern-northern flying squirrel hybrid. As the climate warms, southern squirrels are pushing north to mate with northern flying squirrels. The hybrids are small like the southern species but have the grey-white belly fur of the northern animals.
This coyote-wolf hybrid was photographed in Virginia.
Researchers created these hybrids by breeding Western coyotes with wolves.
Climate change is also leading to sea level rise.
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