Brainy bear takes to tools

A WILD brown bear in Alaska has been spotted indulging in what appears to be a bit of clever grooming, and it is claimed to be the first report of tool-using behaviour in the species.

A paper in Animal Cognition describes how the young bear had been feeding on a whale carcass. Another bear appeared and after some play-fighting, the second bear went to the carcass while the first bear stayed in water close to the shore.

“The animal repeatedly picked up barnacle-encrusted rocks in shallow water, manipulated and re-oriented them in its forepaws, and used them to rub its neck and muzzle. The behaviour probably served to relieve irritated skin or to remove food-remains from the fur,” writes study author Volker B Deeck. “The bear exhibited considerable motor skills when manipulating the rocks, which clearly shows that these animals possess the advanced motor learning necessary for tool-use.”

To date, primates, birds, fish and invertebrates have been seen using tools, but this is only the fifth non-primate mammal where such behaviour has been observed, according to the paper.

“While this observation of tool-use in a brown bear was documented with photographs and detailed behavioural notes as it occurred, to date, it remains an isolated incident. Dedicated research is therefore ultimately required to determine how widespread stone-rubbing and other tool-using behaviours are in this species.”