The Polar Distress

Grizzly bears encroaching on polar bear habitat

Polar bears have been having a rough time of it lately, what with global warming melting their habitat and PCBs tainting their food sources. Now they've got a new problem to worry about: Grizzly bears have been spotted as far north as Canada's Melville Island, 600 miles inside the Arctic Circle. Scientists say the far-north grizzlies seem to be adapting well to life at higher latitudes -- living, eating, and behaving much like, well, polar bears -- which means the real polar bears have to compete with even more tenacity for the north's scarce resources. Researchers aren't sure if the evidence of grizzlies on Melville Island indicates the migration of just one or a handful of renegade bears, or if it signals the beginning of a larger northerly migration and the start of an ugly ursine grudge match.