Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin Hearts Polar Bears - NOT!
Alaskans know a lot more about bears than most people. Over the years - as in lots of years - bear species come and go. The Polar bear diverged from the Brown bear only 200,000 years ago. They were preceded in Alaska by the Arctodus Simus, a larger, less omnivorous animal that disappeared here about 12,000 years ago. All three shared Alaska for a far longer time than human civilization has existed.
There are similar numbers of Polar Bears worldwide - just around 30,000 - as there are Brown bears in Alaska. There are a similar number of Polar bears in Alaska as there are the Brown bear subspecies, the huge Kodiak Bear, around 3,000 of each. Just as Polar bears diverged from Brown bears long ago, they can mate, and do, creating the hybrid known as Nanulak.
Although the only known Nanulak was bagged by an American hunter on Banks Island in upper Canada, Alaska communities are concerned that should the hybrid get started where the two creatures' habitats overlap, the result will be a very large, mean animal that doesn't hibernate.
Palin, for her part, sounded somewhat pragmatic in an op-ed she wrote on January 8, but her statement, "[t]o help ensure that polar bears are around for centuries, Alaska has engaged in research and worked with the federal government to protect them," appears to be disingenuous, given the demand that Prof. Steiner fork over a half a million bucks to have access to some of the information the governor touts as having been done purely on the species' behalf.
