Bears Discover Using Chemicals On Their Paws For Long Distance Communication

Bears could actually communicate with each other without having to face one another. All they need are the glands in their paws that produce chemicals.

This is what the discovery of a team of researchers from Poland, Spain, and Austria about the bears located in Poland. In their published in Scientific Reports titled "Histological, chemical and behavioral evidence of pedal communication in brown bears," the team of researchers has said that their study is focused on multiple bears in the wild and what they observed.

The researchers noted that many animals on the land and in the sea use chemical signaling as an avenue to communicate with one another. These chemicals, when dispersed into the environment, could be used by others of the same species to find out what the animal have left them by just sniffing them.

In an article published in Phys.org, previous research outputs have suggested that brown bears are usual loners establishing large territories. With this lifestyle, it would seem that it suggests the need for long-range communications in order to let other bears know their territory borders, occupant age, and gender.

In addition, there could be a need for females to signal males when they want to have a mating session. In order to know more about the possible chemical signaling in brown bears, the team of researchers began their project by examining skin samples from two bears, with one from the wild and one from the zoo.

After that, they found out that the bears had glands in their feet that secreted chemicals that could be released when the feet were twisted on the ground. After examining the chemicals secreted from the bears' paws, the team found 20 compounds deemed suitable for use in communicating information like readiness for mating and gender.

In order to understand more about how the bears use chemical signaling, the team watched and filmed wild bears based in the mountains of southern Polar for two years, from 2014 to 2016. They also filmed bears based in the mountains of Spain for a three-year period.