1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:11,720 Speaker 1: Lauren Vogelbaum Here, there are currently eight different species of 3 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 1: bears living here with us on planet Earth, but it's 4 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:18,640 Speaker 1: a bit more complicated than that. We'll take, for instance, 5 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 1: the brown bear, whose range extends from the United States 6 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:26,640 Speaker 1: through Canada and far into China, Russia, and Scandinavia. There 7 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:29,479 Speaker 1: are many subspecies of brown bear that hang out in 8 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:33,159 Speaker 1: very specific nooks and crannies the Gobi Desert, for instance, 9 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: or the Russian peninsula of Camchaca. But the largest of 10 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,920 Speaker 1: the brown bear subspecies is the Kodiak bear, which lives 11 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:45,239 Speaker 1: only on the Kodiak Archipelago off the southern coast of Alaska. 12 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 1: The brown bear species is believed to have first evolved 13 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:50,839 Speaker 1: in Asia and spread into Europe around two hundred and 14 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:54,120 Speaker 1: fifty thousand years ago. Around a hundred thousand years ago, 15 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: they likely moved into North America through Alaska, but didn't 16 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,920 Speaker 1: go farther south into the Lower forty eight until closer 17 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 1: to between thirteen thousand and fifteen thousand years ago. For 18 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 1: the article, this episode is based on How Stuff Work. 19 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: Spoke by email with Shannon Finnegan, a PhD. Candidate at 20 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:14,520 Speaker 1: the State University of New York and a Kodiak bear 21 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 1: researcher at the Alaska Department of Fishing Game Kodiak And. 22 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 1: She said it's hard to say exactly how brown bears 23 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:25,680 Speaker 1: ended up in Kodiak, but the most agreed upon theory 24 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:28,840 Speaker 1: is that they likely crossed over from mainland Alaska via 25 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,320 Speaker 1: an ice bridge during the last ice age. It's believed 26 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:35,480 Speaker 1: that some of southern Kodiak may have been unglaciated at 27 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: this point, and the first Kodiak brown bear population may 28 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: have taken hold here. As the glacier retreated, the bear 29 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:47,120 Speaker 1: population likely expanded to occur all across the archipelago, taking 30 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:51,600 Speaker 1: advantage of the rich food supplies. The Kodiak Archipelago is 31 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 1: a string of islands cut off from mainland Alaska, which 32 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: is the perfect condition for a subspecies of anything to evolve. However, 33 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 1: while distinguishing between similar animal species can be difficult, defining 34 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:09,760 Speaker 1: subspecies is even trickier. Biologists don't even completely agree about 35 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:12,800 Speaker 1: whether different groups of brown bears should be classified as 36 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:18,800 Speaker 1: subspecies or not. Finnigand said, generally speaking, all brown bears 37 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 1: found across the world belonged to the same species. However, 38 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:24,920 Speaker 1: it is said that brown bears could be split into 39 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 1: five clades based on some genetic and geographical differences. Within 40 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,240 Speaker 1: this clade system, Kodiak bears fit into a clade with 41 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:39,360 Speaker 1: bears from mainland Alaska. Clades are branches of evolution that 42 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: include a single common ancestor and all of its descendants. 43 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: Since the Kodiak bear has been living the island life 44 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:50,119 Speaker 1: for at least twelve thousand years, it's been cut off 45 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 1: from others of its species for long enough to display 46 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:57,119 Speaker 1: some genetic differences. For instance, the Kodiak bear can grow 47 00:02:57,200 --> 00:02:59,920 Speaker 1: to larger sizes than any other type of brown bear, 48 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:03,360 Speaker 1: weighing in it up to one thousand, five hundred pounds 49 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 1: that's six d and eighty kilos. They rival the polar 50 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:09,120 Speaker 1: bear for the title of biggest bear in the world. 51 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 1: And there's another reason Kodiak bears grow so large compared 52 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:18,840 Speaker 1: with their mainland counterparts. Their archipelago is rich in food 53 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:23,519 Speaker 1: like Pacific salmon, and there's relatively little competition from other predators. 54 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:28,360 Speaker 1: Bears may have a reputation for being aggressive, but according 55 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 1: to Finnegan, Kodiak bears have harmoniously cohabitated with humans on 56 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:35,480 Speaker 1: their islands for a long time. There hasn't been a 57 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 1: human fatality from a bear attack on Kodiak in over 58 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:43,880 Speaker 1: ninety years. Finnegan said they are extremely adaptable and curious 59 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 1: animals with very distinctive personalities. Some bears around the city 60 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 1: of Kodiak have even learned how to open car doors 61 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 1: and bear proof dumpsters, which are very tricky to try 62 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 1: and access human foods. Kodiak bears, like all brown bears, 63 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: have the ability to delay implantation of a fertilized egg 64 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:05,760 Speaker 1: in the womb. That's how a female brown bear can 65 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 1: give birth to a litter of cubs, all sired by 66 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: different fathers. They usually breed in June, but won't become 67 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 1: pregnant until later in the fall. Their bodies have to 68 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:18,360 Speaker 1: wait to see whether they can build up enough fat 69 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: reserves to sustain a pregnancy and provide milk for offspring 70 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 1: in the den. Kodiak bear populations seemed to be relatively 71 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:31,159 Speaker 1: stable at around three thousand, five hundred individuals on the archipelago. However, 72 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:36,320 Speaker 1: this wasn't always the case, Finnigan said. Historically, Kodiak bears 73 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:39,839 Speaker 1: were heavily persecuted on parts of the archipelago when cattle 74 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 1: ranching was a prominent industry, they were viewed as vermin 75 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 1: and exterminated whenever possible. Hunting groups on Kodiak took issue 76 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:50,599 Speaker 1: against this and fought to have protections put in place 77 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:53,840 Speaker 1: for the Kodiak bear. Thanks to the efforts of these 78 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 1: sport hunters, huge swaths of land were set aside as 79 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:00,719 Speaker 1: protected refuge for this bear and their popular and increased 80 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: illegal hunting of Kodiak bears does exist today, however, the 81 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:10,320 Speaker 1: population is closely managed, but as with many animal populations, 82 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 1: climate change may impact Kodiak bears in the future, particularly 83 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:18,560 Speaker 1: if warming waters alter or negatively impact the Pacific salmon 84 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:29,480 Speaker 1: that they rely on for food. Today's episode is based 85 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:31,840 Speaker 1: on the article Alaska's Kodiak Bear is one of the 86 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: Planet's biggest on how stuff works dot Com, written by 87 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 1: Jescelin Shields. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio 88 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com, and it's 89 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:42,160 Speaker 1: produced by Tyler Plain. Of four more podcasts from my 90 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:45,080 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 91 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:47,039 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.