Employees of the zoo in Leipzig (Germany) sound alarm. In one enclosure there live three bears, but you can understand this only by inscriptions, because the animals are completely bald. In a matter of months, almost all the wool fell out. Why? Even experienced veterinarians find it difficult to answer this question. The animals decided to add vitamin and mineral complexes to the diet, but this does not help yet. The lives of the bears seem to be safe, but they feel uncomfortable. Most of all, employees of the zoo are concerned that the bears have grown bald on the eve of severe cold. The bald bear does not hibernate, so for the winter animals will be placed in closed heated rooms.
Until recently, the females of the spectacled bear - fifteen-year-old Dolores and eleven-year-old Lolita - were dark brown and fluffy. Now this is completely bald animals. The cause of this balding is still unclear. A bald bear has only a little fur on its head. In the third female, Bianchi, a little wool remains on the paws. Spectacled bears around the eyes have circles that resemble glasses. A bald bear, having lost its hair, falls into depression and begins to itch. In order for animals to scrub less and not scratch themselves, they are regularly smeared with creams.
Local experts are at a loss for what could provoke this clinic. Veterinarians suggest that baldness could arise from a genetic malfunction, which for some reason suddenly made itself felt. Some believe that a bald bear could lose hair due to stress caused by prolonged bondage. Previously, such a clinic was observed in animals that live in zoos in Brazil and the United States. The native land of this species of bears is South America. In many regions these animals are listed in the Red Book. Bald bear (photo) looks, of course, creepy. Some call these animals werewolves, which began to turn into humans. Can they be helped by veterinarians, until no one knows. There are cases when such animals in zoos survived to twenty-five years.
What does the bear eat?
Spectacled bears of medium size - the height at the withers is up to 90 centimeters, the length is 180 centimeters. Males are larger than females, their body weight is 150 kg, females - 70 kg. Features of this species are very poorly studied. As a rule, a spectacled bear eats vegetation: roots, fruits and leaves. Animals living in the north-western part of the range prefer fruit and leaves of young palm trees. Clumsy climbs effortlessly to thirty-meter palm trees, break branches on their top, and then eat them on the ground.
In semi-deserts, animals eat fruits and cacti. Sometimes spectacled bears can eat corn cobs. Also in the diet of animals include carrion and insects, deer and guanaco. They can lead an active life both during the day and at night. Sexual maturation in animals occurs at 24 months of age, but they begin to multiply much later. On average, the pregnancy lasts 250 days. Female, as a rule, give birth to one to three cubs. During the year, the young live with their mother. In natural conditions, animals live up to 20 years, in the conditions of the zoo till 30 years.