Bald Bears: Possible Cryptid Explanation?

Check out these pics of South American bears who've lost almost all their body hair:

Daily Mail article

Now imagine encountering one of these poor creatures in the wild, perhaps sniffing around your camp site or breaking into your pantry. I know if I was confronted by such a sight, "hairless bear" would not be my first thought.

God! This looks like a large version of something Paris Hilton would carry around in her purse.
I wonder how long the have been in the German Zoo?
Are they new from the wild or born in captivity?

Good question! Whatever's wrong with them, whether genetic or infectious, one might suppose that something similar could affect bear populations in North America and lead to chupacabras, werewolf, or bigfoot reports. I'm speaking hypothetically, of course, and there's no reason to suppose that this has actually occurred, unless anybody knows of any specific reports whose descriptions closely match what's in these pics.

The bear has mange. Its pretty common.

reply to post by testrat


WOW you should contact the zoo real quick - Im sure their trained vets didnt think of that as its so common !

Now tell me which zoo you work for as a trained vet ? - or what university you trained at that can let you look at a picture and diagnose a bear?

no offense intended - Im curious as my daughter wants to be a vet and I cant afford college

Originally posted by Silk
reply to post by testrat

 

WOW you should contact the zoo real quick - Im sure their trained vets didnt think of that as its so common !

Now tell me which zoo you work for as a trained vet ? - or what university you trained at that can let you look at a picture and diagnose a bear?

no offense intended - Im curious as my daughter wants to be a vet and I cant afford college

I don't work for a zoo. As by my username, my Vet work is done at the research level. I specialize in rodents. I see blading in laboratory animals all the time. This is usually due to alopecia. Which could occur in an animal such as a bear, but by judging by only one picture in the article it looks like a classic case of mange.

Here is a pic of a black bear with Mange.
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/bae2d89a329b.jpg[/atsimg]

And for your daughter, have her look at state schools. Many good Vet programs are offered at state schools. And there are plenty Vet jobs available at the research level.

Originally posted by testratAnd there are plenty Vet jobs available at the research level.

Does that mean performing experiments on animals for the pharmaceutical industry? If so, I wouldn't exactly call that a vet job.

"Criminal animal cruelty" would be the more apt term.