|
A number
of black bear cubs in California have been exhibiting unusually
friendly, dog-like behavior around humans, and scientists believe a
brain illness may be to blame.
Last month, California Department of Fish and Wildlife picked up a bear
cub from a residential backyard. The animal had simply moved in there
and didn’t seem to be intimidated by people at all. She picked up apples
and ate them in front of the humans on the patio, and at one point
jumped into a housekeeper’s open car trunk. This was not normal behavior
for a brown bear cub, but the most concerning thing was that
veterinarians in California had seen it before…
|
 |
|
In one case, a few years ago, a bear walked into a classroom and “sat in
the back just like a puppy dog,” Ann Bryant, executive director of the
nonprofit Bear League, told CBS Sacramento. In 2019, a snowboarder
filmed a bear cub that got unusually close to him on a sky slope, and
animal experts say that reports of such bizarre behavior can be traced
back as far as 2014.
In all reported cases, the bear cubs displayed a noticeable head tilt
and walked oddly. Tests showed that the bears that displayed this
unusually friendly attitude behavior around humans all suffered from
encephalitis, or inflammation in the brain. However, no one knows what
is causing the encephalitis; five different viruses have been identified
in the sick bears, but scientists have yet to prove that they are
responsible for the encephalitis.
|
|
|
|
Reports of bear cubs acting strangely have become more frequent lately,
with four such animals being brought to the authorities in the last year
alone. Cases are becoming “more common in the Tahoe Basin and elsewhere
around California.”
Unfortunately, bear cubs that display this unusual friendliness towards
humans, albeit adorable to most people, cannot survive in the wild and
need to be placed in the care of special facilities and zoos, or
euthanized.
“Right now there are just so many unknowns about this but yet it’s out
there, it’s happening,” Ann Bryant said.
|