Over the last two summers, expeditions to Melville Island, N.W.T. led by Dr. John England of the University of Alberta have uncovered evidence of grizzly bears living there-the farthest north they have ever been spotted. On a helicopter ride in 2003, England photographed a bear that bore the distinguishing features of a grizzly. And last summer, they found grizzly paw prints in the mud and recovered two bear hairs that were later proven to be those of a grizzly through genetic analysis. Scientists do not yet know why grizzlies have been spotted on Arctic sea ice increasingly often over the past 15 years. They worry about inter-breeding with polar bears, and what effect this will have on polar bears, whose cubs grizzlies are known to prey on.
Source: 35th Annual International Arctic Workshop
