Polar bear

2001/09/19 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Zoologia

The
bear of the image is white, yes, but it is not the polar bear. No albino. It is a special bear that lives in Canadian British Columbia and today, on the website of the journal Science, the genetic origin of white hair has been revealed.

The Kermode bear or polar bear and the black bear that inhabits America are members of the same species, both Ursus americanus. But some Kermode bears are white. They only inhabit the coastal forests of British Columbia and only about 100-200 white specimens remain.

The scientific name of the bear of Kermode is Ursus americanus kermodei and, as has been said, it is so special because some specimens are white. Specifically, one in ten specimens has white hair. At first it was thought that polar bears were albinos, but then it was seen that a recessive gene caused such a spectacular change. Researchers at Vanvouver University of British Columbia have described this gene in the journal Current Biology.

Researchers have taken DNA samples from the hairs of 22 white specimens and 198 black specimens. A gene related to black and white pigments has been studied and it has been proven that polar and black bears are different. The difference is very small, but enough to change the hair color. This small difference makes polar bears unable to synthesize black and yellow pigment.

To learn more about Kermode:

Ritland website
about the Kermode bear

Kemode bear website and links