Polar bear identical twins, adoptions, and inbreeding

What is it about?

We generated a large multigenerational pedigree (i.e., family tree) of more than 4000 polar bears for future research into genetics and breeding systems. During this process, we discovered the first known pair of identical twin bears and detected six new cases of cub adoption. We also show that inbreeding appears to be rare in this subpopulation.

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Why is it important?

This is one of the largest pedigrees ever constructed for a wild population of a large mammal, which will be used for future research in this population, including quantitative genetics and assessments of the breeding system, such as male reproductive success. We describe our key findings in the context of inclusive fitness theory.