Pole Dancing Bears...What bears Get up to When We're Not Watching

 

 



If you go down to the woods today, you may just come across the seemingly unlikely sight of a bear pole dancing.  Footage filmed in the Canadian wilderness shows a succession of bears practicing their dance moves against a tree.

Cynics have suggested they are simply using the tree as a scratching post but that's just for the tourists. When there are no humans looking the bears get down and dirty.

  These images were captured with a remote wildlife camera as various species visited a "communications" or "rub" tree in Kananaskis Country, (provincial park) leaving a scent as a form of communication to other bears and animals. The image data is being collected as part of a collaborative study looking at multi-species habitat use within  the mountain landscape. In addition to various wildlife species, millions of people visit Kananaskis Country each year. Alberta Parks dedicates significant efforts to maintaining a positive coexistence of wildlife and park visitors through tools such as our bear shepherding program, wildlife proof garbage bins and superior visitor education.

Learn more about human/wildlife conflict prevention at www.wildsmart.ca. For more information about our research, visit http://albertaparks.ca/albertaparksca...