From "pizzly bears" to strange fish, hybrid animal sightings are on the rise.

Animal hybridization may be a good thing in some cases, helping species adapt to a rapidly warming planet, said Daniel Rubinoff, an entomology professor and director of the University of Hawaii Insect Museum.

For others it could spell the end of the line.

“It’s not to say that some hybridization isn’t natural, or even something that’s been occurring forever,” Rubinoff told CNN. “But the problem is that it’s too much too fast. This isn’t good, and climate change is not going to overall help our planet’s biodiversity or ecosystems.”

Not all scientists agree that climate change is speeding up species hybridization. Some argue the other major factor – both contributing to hybridization and species extinction – is habitat loss as human development encroaches on the natural world.

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📸: Vermont Fish & Wildlife