scholarly journals Mortality Causes in Free-Ranging Eurasian Brown Bears (Ursus arctos arctos) in Spain 1998–2018

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1538
Author(s):  
Ana Balseiro ◽  
Luis J. Royo ◽  
Elena Gayo ◽  
Ramón Balsera ◽  
Olga Alarcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Mushroom Poisoning ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Human Intervention ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Cantabrian Mountain ◽  
Traumatic Lesions ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Infectious Etiology

This work summarizes the mortality cases of twenty-five free-ranging Eurasian wild brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos) from the Cantabrian mountain range submitted for necropsy in Asturias and Castilla y León (northwestern Spain) from 1998 to 2018. Mortality cases were classified both caused by (i) “non-human intervention” or “human intervention” causes and based on (ii) “non-infectious” or “infectious” etiology. In four cases (16%) it was not possible to determine the cause of death due to the inadequate preservation of collected specimens or insufficient tissue availability. Based on “non-human intervention” or “human intervention” causes, fourteen of the 21 (66.7%) brown bears died as a consequence of “non-human intervention” due to traumatic lesions (fights, unknown traumas or infanticide), infectious canine hepatitis, neoplasia or mushroom poisoning. In contrast, seven (33.3%) brown bears died by “human intervention” due to illegal hunting (shooting or snare), handling (during transit in an attempt to reintroduce a bear back into the wild) or strychnine poisoning. Based on “non-infectious” or “infectious” etiology, twelve of the 21 (57.1%) brown bears died due to “non-infectious” causes, namely traumatic lesions such as shooting, snare, fighting or infanticide, handling, strychnine poisoning, mushroom poisoning or neoplasia. The remaining nine (42.9%) animals died due to “infectious” diseases which included gangrenous myositis, infectious canine hepatitis or septicemia. In six of those cases traumatic lesions caused by non-human or human activities were complicated with bacterial infection (clostridiosis and septicemia) which finally caused the death of those animals. Additionally, exertional myopathy was observed in the handled animal and in one bear found in a snare. In a free-ranging population of Eurasian brown bear from the Cantabrian mountain range, main causes of death are attributed to non-human related traumatic lesions and infectious diseases (primary developed such as infectious canine hepatitis or secondary developed such as clostridiosis or septicemia) which is in contrast to previously reported data for other bear populations. These data are valuable and may help in the conservation and management of this recovering population.

scholarly journals Mortality in free-ranging Eurasian brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos) in Spain “1998-2018”

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Balseiro ◽  
Luis José Royo ◽  
Elena Gayo ◽  
Ramón Balsera ◽  
Olga Alarcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cause Of Death ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Mushroom Poisoning ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Human Intervention ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Cantabrian Mountain ◽  
Traumatic Lesions ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Infectious Etiology

Abstract Background: This work summarizes the mortality cases of twenty-five free-ranging Eurasian wild brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos) from the Cantabrian mountain range submitted for necropsy in Asturias and Castilla y León (northwestern Spain) from “1998 to 2018”. Results: Causes of death were classified both based on (i) infectious or non infectious etiology and (ii) caused by “human intervention” or “natural causes”. In four cases (16%) it was not possible to determine the cause of death due to the inadequate preservation of collected specimens or insufficient tissue availability. Some bears died from a combination of human activities or natural trauma and secondary bacterial infection (i.e. clostridiosis). Based on infectious or non infectious etiology nine out of the 21 (42.9%) brown bears in which the cause of death could be determined died due to infectious diseases, namely gangrenous myositis, infectious canine hepatitis or septicemia. The remaining twelve (57.1%) animals died due to non infectious causes, which included handling, traumatic lesions such as shooting, snare, fighting or infanticide, strychnine poisoning, mushroom poisoning or neoplasia. Exertional myopathy was additionally observed in the handled animal and in one bear found in a snare. Mortality data was also stratified by deaths caused by “human intervention” or “natural causes”. Seven out of the 21 (33.3%) brown bears died as a consequence of “human intervention” due to illegal hunting (shooting or snare), handling or strychnine poisoning. In contrast, fourteen (66.7%) brown bears died by “natural causes” due to traumatic lesions (fights, traumas, or infanticide), infectious canine hepatitis, neoplasia or mushroom poisoning. In four cases traumatic lesions were complicated with clostridiosis which finally caused the death of those animals. Two additional bears showed septicemia and gangrenous myositis secondary to fighting. Another two animals developed exertional myopathy.Conclusions: In a non-hunted population of Eurasian brown bear from the Cantabrian mountain range, main cause of death is attributed to “natural causes” mostly due to traumatic lesions and infectious diseases (primary or secondary developed) which is in contrast to previously reported data for other bear populations. These data are valuable and may help in the conservation and management of this recovering population.

scholarly journals Mortality in free-ranging Eurasian brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos) in Spain '1998-2018'

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Balseiro ◽  
Luis José Royo ◽  
Elena Gayo ◽  
Ramón Balsera ◽  
Olga Alarcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cause Of Death ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Mushroom Poisoning ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Human Intervention ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Cantabrian Mountain ◽  
Traumatic Lesions ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Infectious Etiology

Abstract Background: This work summarizes the mortality cases of twenty-five free-ranging Eurasian wild brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos) from the Cantabrian mountain range submitted for necropsy in Asturias and Castilla y León (northwestern Spain) from ' 1998 to 2018'. Results: Causes of death were classified both caused by (i) "human intervention" or "natural causes" and based on (ii) "infectious" or "non-infectious" etiology. In four cases (16%) it was not possible to determine the cause of death due to the inadequate preservation of collected specimens or insufficient tissue availability. Based on "human intervention" or "natural causes", seven out of the 21 (33.3%) brown bears in which the cause of death could be determined died as a consequence of "human intervention" due to illegal hunting (shooting or snare), handling or strychnine poisoning. In contrast, fourteen (66.7%) brown bears died by "natural causes" due to traumatic lesions (fights, unknown traumas or infanticide), infectious canine hepatitis, neoplasia, or mushroom poisoning. Based on "infectious" or "non-infectious" etiology nine out of the 21 (42.9%) brown bears died due to "infectious diseases", namely gangrenous myositis, infectious canine hepatitis or septicemia. The remaining twelve (57.1%) animals died due to "non-infectious" causes, which included handling, traumatic lesions such as shooting, snare, fighting or infanticide, strychnine poisoning, mushroom poisoning or neoplasia. In six of those cases traumatic lesions caused by human activities or by natural causes were complicated with bacterial infection (clostridiosis and septicemia) which finally caused the death of those animals. Additionally, exertional myopathy was observed in the handled animal and in one bear found in a snare. Conclusions: In a non-hunted population of Eurasian brown bear from the Cantabrian mountain range, main cause of death is attributed to “natural causes” mostly due to traumatic lesions and infectious diseases (primary developed such as infectious canine hepatitis or secondary developed such as clostridiosis or septicemia) which is in contrast to previously reported data for other bear populations.These data are valuable and may help in the conservation and management of this recovering population.

scholarly journals Mortality in free-ranging Eurasian brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos) in Spain (1998-2018)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Balseiro ◽  
Luis José Royo ◽  
Elena Gayo ◽  
Ramón Balsera ◽  
Olga Alarcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Cause Of Death ◽  
Causes Of Death ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Mushroom Poisoning ◽  
Human Intervention ◽  
Pathological Findings ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Traumatic Lesions ◽  
Free Ranging

Abstract Background This work summarizes the confirmed causes of death of twenty-five free-ranging Eurasian brown bears ( Ursus arctos arctos ) from the Cantabrian mountain range submitted for necropsy in Asturias and Castilla y León (northwestern Spain) from 1998 to 2018. Results Causes of death were classified based on (i) pathological findings and (ii) caused by “human intervention” or “non human intervention”. In four cases (16%) it was not possible to determine the cause of death due to the bad preservation of found remains or insufficient tissue availability. Based on pathological findings seven out of the 21 (33.3%) brown bears in which the cause of death could be determined died due to infectious diseases (clostridiosis n =4 or infectious canine hepatitis n =3), two (9.5%) due to exertional (degenerative) myopathy (one of those bears also showed clostridiosis) and one due to strychnine poisoning (4.8%), neoplasia (4.8%) or mushroom poisoning (4.8%). The remaining animals died due to traumatic lesions (including fights or infanticide), shooting or wire snare. Mortality data was also classified by deaths caused by “human intervention” or “non human intervention”. The death of one bear showing exertional myopathy after handling was not ascribed to any of the former classifications. Six out of the 20 (30%) brown bears died as a consequence of “human intervention” due to illegal hunting (wire snare hunting n =3 or shooting n =2) and, strychnine poisoning ( n =1). In contrast, fourteen (14/20, 70%) brown bears died by “non-human intervention”; nine of them (9/20, 45%) due to traumatic lesions (fights n =4, traumas n =3 or infanticide n =2), three (3/20, 15%) due to infectious canine hepatitis caused by canine adenovirus type 1 (CAdV-1) infection, one (1/20, 5%) due to cholangiocarcinoma and another one (5%) due to mushroom poisoning. Conclusions This study shows that the main causes of death in Eurasian brown bears are those caused by infectious diseases. In contrast to previous data on free-ranging bears for the first time infectious diseases appear as an important cause of death. These data are valuable and may help in the conservation and management of this recovering population.

Sexing free-ranging brown bears Ursus arctos using hairs found in the field

1993 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 399-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. TABERLET ◽  
H. MATTOCK ◽  
C. DUBOIS-PAGANON ◽  
J. BOUVET
Keyword(s):  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Free Ranging

scholarly journals Specific shifts in the endocannabinoid system in hibernating brown bears

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Boyer ◽  
Laura Cussonneau ◽  
Charlotte Brun ◽  
Christiane Deval ◽  
Jean-Paul Pais de Barros ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Mild Hypothermia ◽  
Endocannabinoid System ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Physiological Adaptation ◽  
Acid Oxidation ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Peripheral Tissues ◽  
Free Ranging

Abstract In small hibernators, global downregulation of the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which is involved in modulating neuronal signaling, feeding behavior, energy metabolism, and circannual rhythms, has been reported to possibly drive physiological adaptation to the hibernating state. We hypothesized that specific changes should occur in hibernating brown bears ( Ursus arctos ) due to specific features, including hibernation during half the year at only mild hypothermia while remaining physically inactive without drinking or eating, and the absence of arousal episodes although bears remain sensitive to external disturbances. We explored circulating lipids and the ECS in plasma and metabolically active tissues (muscle and adipose tissue), in free-ranging subadult Scandinavian brown bears when both active and hibernating. In winter bear serum, in addition to a 2-fold increase in total fatty acid concentration, we found significant changes in relative proportions of circulating fatty acids, such as a 2-fold increase in docosahexaenoic acid and a decrease in arachidonic acid. In adipose and muscle tissues of hibernating bears, we found lower concentrations of both two major ligands for endocannabinoid receptors, 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and anandamide (AEA). Gene expression was reduced for enzymes that synthesize endocannabinoid compounds, whereas an increase was observed for catabolic enzymes. Reduction in ECS tone may promote mobilization of fat stores and favor carbohydrate metabolism in skeletal muscle of hibernating bears. Additionally, high circulating of the endocannabinoid-like compound N-oleoylethanolamide (OEA) in winter could favor lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation in peripheral tissues. We also speculated on a role of OEA in the maintenance of torpor (reduction in locomotion), while promoting the capacity of bears to sense stimuli from the environment.

scholarly journals Haematological and biochemical reference intervals for free-ranging brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Sweden

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Randi Græsli ◽  
Åsa Fahlman ◽  
Alina L Evans ◽  
Mads Frost Bertelsen ◽  
Jon Martin Arnemo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Reference Intervals ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Free Ranging

scholarly journals Development of a noninvasive photograph-based method for the evaluation of body condition in free-ranging brown bears

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e9982
Author(s):  
Yuri Shirane ◽  
Fumihiko Mori ◽  
Masami Yamanaka ◽  
Masanao Nakanishi ◽  
Tsuyoshi Ishinazaka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Accurate Method ◽  
Condition Index ◽  
The Body ◽  
Length Ratio ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Free Ranging

Body condition is an important determinant of health, and its evaluation has practical applications for the conservation and management of mammals. We developed a noninvasive method that uses photographs to assess the body condition of free-ranging brown bears (Ursus arctos) in the Shiretoko Peninsula, Hokkaido, Japan. First, we weighed and measured 476 bears captured during 1998–2017 and calculated their body condition index (BCI) based on residuals from the regression of body mass against body length. BCI showed seasonal changes and was lower in spring and summer than in autumn. The torso height:body length ratio was strongly correlated with BCI, which suggests that it can be used as an indicator of body condition. Second, we examined the precision of photograph-based measurements using an identifiable bear in the Rusha area, a special wildlife protection area on the peninsula. A total of 220 lateral photographs of this bear were taken September 24–26, 2017, and classified according to bear posture. The torso height:body/torso length ratio was calculated with four measurement methods and compared among bear postures in the photographs. The results showed torso height:horizontal torso length (TH:HTL) to be the indicator that could be applied to photographs of the most diverse postures, and its coefficient of variation for measurements was <5%. In addition, when analyzing photographs of this bear taken from June to October during 2016–2018, TH:HTL was significantly higher in autumn than in spring/summer, which indicates that this ratio reflects seasonal changes in body condition in wild bears. Third, we calculated BCI from actual measurements of seven females captured in the Rusha area and TH:HTL from photographs of the same individuals. We found a significant positive relationship between TH:HTL and BCI, which suggests that the body condition of brown bears can be estimated with high accuracy based on photographs. Our simple and accurate method is useful for monitoring bear body condition repeatedly over the years and contributes to further investigation of the relationships among body condition, food habits, and reproductive success.

scholarly journals A Double-Blinded, Randomized Comparison of Medetomidine-Tiletamine-Zolazepam and Dexmedetomidine-Tiletamine-Zolazepam Anesthesia in Free-Ranging Brown Bears (Ursus Arctos)

PLoS ONE ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. e0170764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Núria Fandos Esteruelas ◽  
Marc Cattet ◽  
Andreas Zedrosser ◽  
Gordon B. Stenhouse ◽  
Susanne Küker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Double Blinded ◽  
Free Ranging

scholarly journals Dental and Periodontal Health in Free-Ranging Swedish Brown Bears (Ursus arctos)

2009 ◽  
Vol 141 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 170-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Strömquist ◽  
Å. Fahlman ◽  
J.M. Arnemo ◽  
A. Pettersson
Keyword(s):  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Periodontal Health ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Free Ranging
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