Nov 6, 2009

Rubbing Down Bears

Ever wonder what a bear looks like bald? Well, prepare to have your curiosity satisfied. The three female spectacled bears at the Leipzig Zoo are all in varying stages of baldness. No one's sure why these bears--which come from South America--and many other bears across Europe are losing their hair. They're also suffering from itchiness, so their keepers are rubbing them down with ointments to soothe their skin. How would you like that job? Rubbing down balding, cranky lady bears?

It's got to be something to do with climate or diet, and a task force of vets has been assembled to address the problem. I imagine the bear rubbers are looking forward to getting an answer and a solution sooner than later.

Thanks to Mary for the article, who got this submission past my rigorous screening process just like her little brothers, Joe and Luke. Additional thanks to Ida, Lee Ann, and Gail, all of whom sent in the same story. Great minds think alike.



44 comments:

Sabina E. said...

My poor teddy!!!

KittyChymira said...

Well, I did always want to know what a bear's tail and butt look like without all the hair. The second photo answers this question quite well, and I thank you for that. Also, their claws look a whole lot scarier without all the padding around them.

Anonymous said...

Looks like someone already rubbed them bear.

Anonymous said...

The bear in that second picture looks like it has Isaac Asimov mutton-chops.

wobblerlorri said...

I swear, the first one looked like a Photoshopped image of a ferret head on an elephant... I did a double take!

Laura said...

looks like a rather bad case of mange. i hope they've tested the bears for it.

Anonymous said...

"Rubbed them bear." hahahahaha

Looks like the real chupacabra to me!

June Cleaver said...

Awww, makes me want to knit them a sweater.

Angela said...

Fuzzy wuzzy WAS a bear
Fuzzy wuzzy had no hair
Fuzzy wuzzy wasn't fuzzy
Oh my gosh he wasn't, was he!!!

Anonymous said...

it looks like a werewolf.

- lynn

John Gunn said...

Very sad. But Fuzzy Wuzzy song seems eerily prophetic now.

Anonymous said...

they remind me of a character from the neverending story or something like that

a little black cloud in a dress said...

eeek. scary!

sassylassy666 said...

Kind of as ugly as us humans with fur. A living gargoyle? That was my first thought. Cool find. Poor creatures.

Unknown said...

Your blog is so original : )

Those poor bears (and the poor people who have to rub on the medicine ... it's like "Dirty Jobs" to the extreme)

José Luis Avila Herrera said...

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www.BANCODEIMAGENESGRATUITAS.com

Lisa A said...

Poor bears :-( It does look like mange. Surely they have tested for such a common condition.

JC said...

Oh my, at least they are being taken care of. In the wild, they'd probably would have past on ..

Anonymous said...

Could the environmental change that these bears are experiencing in Europe be similar to the environmental change that caused early hominids in our ancestral line to shed their fur/hair for the final time?

Thomas said...

wow, that's just out of expectation.
cool pictures. what happen with that bear anyway?

Adina said...

I think I wanna be a bear...

If you're a bear, you get to hibernate. You do nothing for six months. I could deal with that.

Before you hibernate, you're supposed to eat until you can't eat any more. I could deal with that too.

If you're a bear, you birth your children (who are the size of walnuts) while you're sleeping and wake to partially grown, but cuddly cubs. I could definitely deal with that.

If you're a mama bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. I could deal with that.

If you're a bear, your mate expects you to wake up growling. He expects that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat.

Yup, I wanna be a bear.

hotnoob said...

Wow......

and, LOL! the word verification says "cutte" hahah...

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kval.FM said...

naked bears= socially awkward

Hayley said...

Poor little things - they are gorgeous!

Unknown said...

Awwwwww...poor bears!

Sproglet said...

Love love love this blog!

Congrats on Blog of Note :)

Becki xx

Dark Side of Moi said...

Looks scary..
Like those chupacabra photos that recently got popular because of another weird-looking dead animal found.

Anonymous said...

disgusting

Bakkanekko said...

Ewww.. lol~ xDD

haktech said...

looks like alien to me.. poor bear

Ju said...

Wow! Now that is ugly.

I thought I was a looking at genetic engineering gone way wrong.

I feel bad for the little guys.

Emelie said...

oh my god! that looks crazy! and kind of scary.. or maybe like a malformed chihuahua? ;)

http://mmsydney.blogspot.com

Dennis The Tiger said...

That resembles a condition that one of my cats had. It was treated with Advantage, a topical flea treatment - and the condition cleared up, and she had her fur back within about a month or so.

Unknown said...

nice pictures......

Alexandra Faltis said...

Aww hope they get better soon.

ckg2013 said...

that is so scary

flavescens boreali said...

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That fuzzy wuzzy song really applies here.
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See ya!

Smocha said...

Oh great, ever since I got to England ...I've been dry and itchy,my hair has turned orange...
I say ...it's the water.

WTH should I do before I look like those poor bears?

Michael said...

I think we've solved the whole Montauk monster debate, and similar such stories.

stephen begin said...

There's a similarly afflicted bear at the granby zoo near montreal. The keepers told me it was allergies, but they hadn't had any luck in controlling them.
The poor guy was quite itchy too.

Lyubov said...

I don't think it is funny or cool. Those bears are really pooooooor! I am very sorry for them. Nothing to laugh at.

H said...

weird...

Anonymous said...

This is terribly sad, but I must admit my first thought was "it rubs the lotion on its body".

the ginabean said...

Holy crap, who knew that bald bears would look more terrifying that those with thick, healthy coats?

It reminds me of those creepy dog things from Willow...