Bears act like friendly dogs because of a strange brain condition

A mysterious condition makes some black bears friendly and unafraid of humans, among other strange symptoms.

Researchers believe the disease, which appears to affect young bears about a year old, is a type of encephalitis, which means inflammation of the brain, according to a California Department of Fish and Wildlife press release late last month. As of 2014, a handful of bears in Nevada and California have shown signs of the condition, and over the past year it was confirmed that four California bears have it.

“The first bear I personally rescued was diagnosed with encephalitis in March 2018,” Ann Bryant of the Bear Education Aversion Response told Live Science. “She walked into a school and went into a class where she sat with the kids and acted very much like a friendly dog.”

The encephalitis has other serious effects on the bears, including tremors, head tilt and seizures. Affected bears also tend to be severely underweight. A female bear, who picked up an apple in February and ate it on a patio with people, weighed only 21 pounds, when she should have been about 80 pounds. She was also under ticks, walked strangely and ended up being euthanized.

It is still unclear what exactly causes the encephalitis. But while studying the phenomenon, scientists have identified five previously unknown viruses in the affected bears.

These viruses are not believed to pose any risk to humans, Jamie Sherman, a veterinarian at the University of California, Davis’ One Health Institute told the Sacramento Bee.

Bears suffering from encephalitis usually need to be euthanized. Their symptoms don’t equip them to survive in the wild, and those placed in zoos or sanctuaries can become “a huge burden” due to the lifelong medical care they require, veterinarian Brandon Munk said in the CFDW release. .

However, two bears who showed neurological problems in recent years were able to find a new home. One, now called Elinor, was taken to Orange County Zoo. The other bear, who went viral after being caught on camera sniffing a snowboarder and now called Benji, lives at the San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Wildlife Center. Last month Benji celebrated his third birthday there with a fruit and mashed potato cake.