New light on polar bears
New genetic evidence underlines the threat posed to the iconic animals by human activity and global warming.
Scientists writing in the journal Science now believe polar bears date back some 600,000 years – during one of the Earth’s coldest periods – and evolved gradually over a series of repeated glacial cycles.
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Hide AdThe pressure on polar bears would be amplified by human factors such as habitat loss, hunting and pollution, the experts fear.
Earlier research suggested polar bears were much younger, and essentially were a recently evolved type of northern brown bear.