The ecological and behavioral significance of short-term food caching in polar bears ( Ursus maritimus)
The paucity of observations of wild polar bears (Ursus maritimus) caching of food (including hoarding, i.e., burying and remaining with a kill for up to a few days) has led to the conclusion that such behavior does not occur or is negligible in this species. We document 19 observations of short-term...
Published in: | Arctic Science |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Canadian Science Publishing
2020
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2019-0008 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/as-2019-0008 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/as-2019-0008 |
id |
crcansciencepubl:10.1139/as-2019-0008 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crcansciencepubl:10.1139/as-2019-0008 2024-09-15T17:49:57+00:00 The ecological and behavioral significance of short-term food caching in polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) Stirling, Ian Laidre, Kristin L. Derocher, Andrew E. Van Meurs, Rinie 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2019-0008 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/as-2019-0008 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/as-2019-0008 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Arctic Science volume 6, issue 1, page 41-52 ISSN 2368-7460 2368-7460 journal-article 2020 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2019-0008 2024-08-29T04:08:49Z The paucity of observations of wild polar bears (Ursus maritimus) caching of food (including hoarding, i.e., burying and remaining with a kill for up to a few days) has led to the conclusion that such behavior does not occur or is negligible in this species. We document 19 observations of short-term hoarding by polar bears between 1973 and 2018 in Svalbard, Greenland, and Canada. Short-term hoarding appears to be influenced by size of the kill and its remaining energetic value after the first meal has been consumed. Fat and meat from smaller seals, such as pup or yearling ringed seals (Pusa hispida), are largely devoured immediately, leaving little to hoard. Carcasses of adult ringed seals, harp seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus), and bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) may be covered with snow to reduce the chance of kleptoparasitism by another bear or other scavengers visually detecting a dark spot on the ice, while the hoarding bear lies nearby. Hoarding of other species, such as beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) (calves or parts) or other polar bears, appears opportunistic. We review differences in caching, including short-term hoarding behavior between polar bears and brown bears (U. arctos), and hypothesize about factors that may have influenced their evolution. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Beluga Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Erignathus barbatus Greenland Pagophilus groenlandicus Pusa hispida Svalbard Ursus maritimus Canadian Science Publishing Arctic Science 6 1 41 52 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
The paucity of observations of wild polar bears (Ursus maritimus) caching of food (including hoarding, i.e., burying and remaining with a kill for up to a few days) has led to the conclusion that such behavior does not occur or is negligible in this species. We document 19 observations of short-term hoarding by polar bears between 1973 and 2018 in Svalbard, Greenland, and Canada. Short-term hoarding appears to be influenced by size of the kill and its remaining energetic value after the first meal has been consumed. Fat and meat from smaller seals, such as pup or yearling ringed seals (Pusa hispida), are largely devoured immediately, leaving little to hoard. Carcasses of adult ringed seals, harp seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus), and bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) may be covered with snow to reduce the chance of kleptoparasitism by another bear or other scavengers visually detecting a dark spot on the ice, while the hoarding bear lies nearby. Hoarding of other species, such as beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) (calves or parts) or other polar bears, appears opportunistic. We review differences in caching, including short-term hoarding behavior between polar bears and brown bears (U. arctos), and hypothesize about factors that may have influenced their evolution. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Stirling, Ian Laidre, Kristin L. Derocher, Andrew E. Van Meurs, Rinie |
spellingShingle |
Stirling, Ian Laidre, Kristin L. Derocher, Andrew E. Van Meurs, Rinie The ecological and behavioral significance of short-term food caching in polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) |
author_facet |
Stirling, Ian Laidre, Kristin L. Derocher, Andrew E. Van Meurs, Rinie |
author_sort |
Stirling, Ian |
title |
The ecological and behavioral significance of short-term food caching in polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) |
title_short |
The ecological and behavioral significance of short-term food caching in polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) |
title_full |
The ecological and behavioral significance of short-term food caching in polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) |
title_fullStr |
The ecological and behavioral significance of short-term food caching in polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) |
title_full_unstemmed |
The ecological and behavioral significance of short-term food caching in polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) |
title_sort |
ecological and behavioral significance of short-term food caching in polar bears ( ursus maritimus) |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2019-0008 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/as-2019-0008 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/as-2019-0008 |
genre |
Arctic Beluga Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Erignathus barbatus Greenland Pagophilus groenlandicus Pusa hispida Svalbard Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Arctic Beluga Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Erignathus barbatus Greenland Pagophilus groenlandicus Pusa hispida Svalbard Ursus maritimus |
op_source |
Arctic Science volume 6, issue 1, page 41-52 ISSN 2368-7460 2368-7460 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2019-0008 |
container_title |
Arctic Science |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
41 |
op_container_end_page |
52 |
_version_ |
1810291788997459968 |