Jim Martell
| Grizzly-polar bear hybrid | |
|---|---|
| File:Hybridpolargrizzlybear.jpg Grizzly-polar bear hybrid, courtesy of the Canadian Wildlife Service | |
| Hybrid parentage | Ursus maritimus x U. arctos horribilis |
| Cultivar | Ursus maritimus horribilis |
| Origin | Northwest Territories, Canada, 2006 |
Jim Martell is a hunter from the USA who while on a trophy hunting trip at Sachs Harbor in Canada's Northwest Territories in which he shot a rare hybrid grizzly-polar bear. Martell had purchased an US$50,000 hunting permit and hired an Inuit hunting guide for the trip from the Sachs Harbour Hunters and Trappers Association. The guide spotted the bear, "north of Sachs Harbor, about 900 miles north of Yellowknife," according to the CBC.
Martell described the situation in which he shot the bear: "Well, the guide, he said 'shoot', and he's a longtime guide there in Sachs Harbour and he knows what a polar bear is." [citation needed]
Though DNA tests have established that the bear was indeed a hybrid of the Grizzly and Polar Bear, and the outward phenotype of the bear most closely resembled its Polar bear parent.
At first the skin and meat was taken by the NWT's Department of Environment and Natural Resources. They stated that Martell could be charged if the bear was found to be a grizzly, for which he did not have a licence. However, they later returned the skin to Martell.