Bears act like cute dogs due to a strange brain condition

A mysterious disease is turning black bones into sympathetic and fearless humans, among other strange symptoms.

According to a statement from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife late last month, the investigation believes the disease, which appears to affect young bones for about a year, is a type of encephalitis, an inflammation of the liver. brain. Since 2014, a handful of bears in Nevada and California have shown signs of the disease and it was confirmed that four Californian bones had it in the last year.

“The first bear I personally rescued was diagnosed with encephalitis in March 2018,” Ann Bryant of the Orse Education Aversion Response told Live Science. “He went into a school and went into a classroom where he sat among the children, behaving like a kind dog.”

Encephalitis has other serious effects on bones, such as tremors, tilting of the head, and seizures. Affected bears also tend to be underweight. A female bear, observed in February picking an apple and eating it among humans in a yard, weighed only 21 pounds when it should have been around 80 pounds. She was also covered in ticks, walked strangely and was finally euthanized.

It is still unclear exactly what causes inflammation in the brain. But in the course of studying the phenomenon, scientists have identified five hitherto unknown viruses in the affected bears.

These viruses are not believed to pose any risk to humans, said Jamie Sherman, a veterinarian at the University of California, Davis Institute of Health One, in Sacramento Bee.

Bears suffering from encephalitis are usually euthanized. Their symptoms make them ill-equipped to survive in nature, and those found in zoos or sanctuaries can become “a huge burden” because of the medical care they will need for a lifetime, according to the vet’s statement. of wildlife Brandon Munk.

However, two bears with neurological problems in recent years were able to find new homes. One, now named Elinor, was taken to the Orange County Zoo. The other bear, which had gone viral after being caught on camera sniffing a snowboard surfer and now named Benji, lives in the Ramona Wildlife Center of the San Diego Humane Society. Last month, Benji celebrated his third birthday with a fruit cake and mashed potatoes.