Burying of dead cubs by a brown bear in Greece: Food caching or 'grief' behavior? - International Association for Bear Research and Management

Burying of dead cubs by a brown bear in Greece: Food caching or ‘grief’ behavior?

June 8, 2021

File	Action
2021.32(7)--1-5.pdf	Download

Version
Download 8
File Size 1.52 MB
Create Date 8 June 2021
Download

Understanding animal behavior is essential for the conservation of endangered species. We document the case of a female brown bear (Ursus arctos) burying her 2 cubs-of-the-year, following their death in a car accident in May 2020 in the Prefecture of Kastoria, northern Greece. Both cubs were partially buried, half-covered with earth in an open field. We explore the circumstances and causes of this unusual behavior in relation to 2 potential explanations: caching of food and 'grieving.' Although the evidence collected is not conclusive enough to accept either of the 2 explanations, we report this observation to draw attention to this type of behavior in brown bears in the wild and hope that it will serve as a source for motivating future research.

We are a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live, work and research across the earth. We recognise their continued custodianship and connection to the land, waters and community. We respect and honor Elders past, present and emerging. Our hope is that we move forward with open minds listening and learning from their wisdom and knowledge.