Photograph by Jan Woitas, Picture Alliance/DPA/Photoshot
National Geographic News
Published December 8, 2009
A spectacled bear named Dolores (pictured) is sporting an unconventional look after losing almost all her hair.
Zoo experts are working to cure the bears' non-life-threatening condition, zoo curator Gerd Noeltzhold told the BBC.
Spectacled bears—also called Andean bears—live in the mountains of South America and are the continent's only bear species.
"We were very scared, because it was the first time we had seen this," Castellano said.
Keepers in Ecuador put that bear, which had previously been fed human food—including Coca-Cola—on its natural diet of fruits and bamboo, and added enrichment items, such as toys and exotic foods, into the bear's enclosure. Four months later the fur grew back.
Similar cases have occurred in a Bolivian zoo and in Peru, Ximena Velez-Liendo, a spectacled bear specialist, said by email.
(Related: "Polar Bear Triplets Born in Zoo—A First?")
It's unknown whether a lack of nutrition is the culprit in the Leipzig bears' situation.
Until a cure is found, keepers have been applying medical ointment to the bears' skin, which becomes itchy without its protective fur.
National Geographic explores how we can feed the growing population without overwhelming the planet in our food series.
The Innovators Project
Meet some of science's most important movers and shakers—from past and present.
Latest News Video
Mazes are a powerful tool for neuroscientists trying to figure out the brain and help us learn to grapple with the unexpected.