It is thought that polar bears originated from a population of brown bears that became geographically isolated during a glaciation event that occurred about 150,000 years ago (Lindqvist et al., 2010). Traditionally the territories of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) and polar bears (Ursus maritimus) did not overlap, as grizzlies ranged from Alaska to Mexico, whereas polar bears stayed on the annual sea ice over the Arctic continental shelf and within the Arctic archipelagos. Relatively recently (last 50 years or so) grizzlies and polar bears have begun to come in contact in the wild. Have you hear of a grolar bear (grizzly dad and polar bear mom) or a pizzly bear (polar bear dad and grizzly mom)? These are the offspring of matings between polar bears and grizzlies. A handful of these animals have been born in zoos and three have been documented in nature. Given the existence of at least a few hybrid grolars or pizzlies in the Arctic environment, do you define Ursus maritimus and Ursus arctos horribilis as separate species based on the biological species concept? Why or why not? Provide an explanation for these observations. Solution Answer Based on Biological Species Concept, the two - Ursus maritimus and Ursus arctos-horribilis can not be regarded as separate species based on the data provided in the question. According to biological species concept, developedby Mayr (1942) \"species are groups of actually or potentially interbreeding natural populations, which are reproductively isolated from other such groups. If two populations are capable of exchanging genes freely (under go reproduction) either under natural or artificial conditions, the two are said to be the same species. On the other hand, if the two populations are not capable of exchanging genes freely and are reproductively isolated, they should be considered as distinct species..