Ecology
A wild brown bear was captured in the photo when he used a piece of stone as a kind of tool.
The photos were taken at Schleisher Bay National Park in Alaska by Dr Volker Deecke from the University of Cumbria. The bear could use this piece of stone to scratch irritated skin or remove pieces of fur while molting. This means brown bears may be much more intelligent creatures than previously thought.
Dr. Dieke observed the behavior of bears while relaxing in the park and published his notes in Animal Cognition magazine.
Bears usually know how to care for their hair during molting, they rub against trees or stones, remove old hair with their teeth, but no one has ever seen animals use special ones for this purpose before devices for combing out falling hair.
Behavioral characteristics of bears:
— Brown bears (Ursus arctos) hunt alone except for seasonal shows, such as salmon spawning. At this time, bears gather in large groups and fish.
— They can kill a moose, deer or black bear.
— Brown bears spend almost half of their lives hibernating underground.
— Cubs stay with their mother for 2 to 4 years.
— Siblings can stay together for several more years.
— Brown bears are found in Asia, China, Europe, the Himalayas, North America and Russia.
Brown bears live very isolated lives, so it was believed that these animals were less likely to develop these skills, said Dr. Dicke.
Animals have a relatively large brain volume compared to their total body size, the largest of all carnivorous animals, and much larger than most social predators, such as, for example, lions.
Much has been said about the fact that socialization affects brain size and cognitive abilities. It seems that bears are much more complex creatures than zoologists thought.
Man has learned to use improvised tools most of all, but some animals also know how to do this, as it has now become clear, including the brown bear.
Sea otters use rocks to split the shells of sea mollusks and urchins, Asian elephants use tree branches to ward off flies, bottlenose dolphins put a sponge over their noses in It's hunting time to avoid getting hurt, and humpback whales use air bubbles to trap flocks of fish.
Although only one bear was discovered that used a special tool, this was very interesting for scientists who plan to conduct further research.
“We don't yet know if this behavior is common in bears, but it shows how little we actually know about the cognitive abilities of different animals, including brown bears,” – Dr. Dicke said.