Post by sarus on Sept 2, 2012 2:06:00 GMT -9
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Cannibalism in Andean Bears?
Armando Castellanos
Andean Bear Project Director
Fundación Espíritu del Bosque
Barcelona 311 y Tolosa
Quito -Ecuador
E-mail: armando@andeanbear.org
Website: www.andeanbear.org
It is well known that most of the members of the Ursidae family are opportunistic eaters.
The Andean bear is no exception. Although they primarily eat suro, a kind of bamboo,
in the cloud forest of the Intag region of Ecuador, they also eat carrion. For this reason
we use decomposing cow’s feet as bait to facilitate the capture and radio-collared
bears. Still, I had never thought that a dead Andean bear could be eaten by other
bears.
In April this year we received an inactive signal from one of our radio-collared bears we
named Alvaro. My field assistant Alberto Tabango, and I went to investigate what
had happened. As we got closer to the radio collar, we encountered a trail strewn with
broken branches and crushed plants. This appeared to have been produced by
something that had been dragged. We had followed the trail for about 50 meters when
we began to smell the odor of rotting flesh. While looking for where these smells came
from, we discovered a tree platform that had been made by a bear. As we approached
it, the odor became more intense, and subsequently we began to encounter pieces of
bone with bits of unidentifiable meat of a large mammal.
We continued searching for the radio collar. The trail became a tunnel as it passed
through dense stands of suro. A tunnel in vegetation is typical of a bear dragging its
prey (I had frequently observed these tunnels in areas where bears prey on livestock).
It appeared that one or more bears had been feeding on something.
Following the tunnel for another 50 meters, we encountered Alvaro’s radio collar. I
initially thought that Alvaro may have lost his collar and that the bear had been hauling
the carcass of a deer (Mazama americana). However, 100 meters further down the
tunneled path, we came across what remained of Alvaro’s body. Chest, dorsal spine,
forearms, and muscles had disappeared. We began to look for the cause of death.
We found three holes approximately 7 mm in diameter in Alvaro’s abdominal region and
right lateral thorax, indicating that Alvaro had been shot by a hunter.
It was not possible to find the bullets in his body because of the distance that Alvaro
was dragged. From the tracks we encountered we deduced that Alvaro was shot but
escaped. It is well known that it is necessary to shoot a bear several times to kill it.
Fatally wounded, the bear speedily left the scene of the shooting, where he tried to heal
himself by licking. This was deduced from the quantity of hair in his mouth. Despite his
efforts, Alvaro eventually died and later was dragged and devoured by one or more
fellow Andean bears.
The death of Alvaro has caused us great sadness. However, we feel that his loss was
not in vain as it has helped us learn a little more because it is hard to find remains of
large mammals, especially of bears in the cloud forests of Ecuador.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
► www.andeanbear.org/papers/english/cannibal-bears.pdf
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
.
Cannibalism in Andean Bears?
Armando Castellanos
Andean Bear Project Director
Fundación Espíritu del Bosque
Barcelona 311 y Tolosa
Quito -Ecuador
E-mail: armando@andeanbear.org
Website: www.andeanbear.org
It is well known that most of the members of the Ursidae family are opportunistic eaters.
The Andean bear is no exception. Although they primarily eat suro, a kind of bamboo,
in the cloud forest of the Intag region of Ecuador, they also eat carrion. For this reason
we use decomposing cow’s feet as bait to facilitate the capture and radio-collared
bears. Still, I had never thought that a dead Andean bear could be eaten by other
bears.
In April this year we received an inactive signal from one of our radio-collared bears we
named Alvaro. My field assistant Alberto Tabango, and I went to investigate what
had happened. As we got closer to the radio collar, we encountered a trail strewn with
broken branches and crushed plants. This appeared to have been produced by
something that had been dragged. We had followed the trail for about 50 meters when
we began to smell the odor of rotting flesh. While looking for where these smells came
from, we discovered a tree platform that had been made by a bear. As we approached
it, the odor became more intense, and subsequently we began to encounter pieces of
bone with bits of unidentifiable meat of a large mammal.
We continued searching for the radio collar. The trail became a tunnel as it passed
through dense stands of suro. A tunnel in vegetation is typical of a bear dragging its
prey (I had frequently observed these tunnels in areas where bears prey on livestock).
It appeared that one or more bears had been feeding on something.
Following the tunnel for another 50 meters, we encountered Alvaro’s radio collar. I
initially thought that Alvaro may have lost his collar and that the bear had been hauling
the carcass of a deer (Mazama americana). However, 100 meters further down the
tunneled path, we came across what remained of Alvaro’s body. Chest, dorsal spine,
forearms, and muscles had disappeared. We began to look for the cause of death.
We found three holes approximately 7 mm in diameter in Alvaro’s abdominal region and
right lateral thorax, indicating that Alvaro had been shot by a hunter.
It was not possible to find the bullets in his body because of the distance that Alvaro
was dragged. From the tracks we encountered we deduced that Alvaro was shot but
escaped. It is well known that it is necessary to shoot a bear several times to kill it.
Fatally wounded, the bear speedily left the scene of the shooting, where he tried to heal
himself by licking. This was deduced from the quantity of hair in his mouth. Despite his
efforts, Alvaro eventually died and later was dragged and devoured by one or more
fellow Andean bears.
The death of Alvaro has caused us great sadness. However, we feel that his loss was
not in vain as it has helped us learn a little more because it is hard to find remains of
large mammals, especially of bears in the cloud forests of Ecuador.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
► www.andeanbear.org/papers/english/cannibal-bears.pdf
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
.
