I ran across a fascinating story about brown bears.

Brown bear exfoliates using rock as a tool



A wild brown bear has been photographed using a barnacle-covered rock to exfoliate in the first recorded act of tool use by the species.

The observation was made in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska by the University of Cumbria's Dr Volker Deecke.

The bear may have been using the rock to scratch irritated skin or remove food from its fur while moulting, Dr Deecke says.

It means brown bears could be more advanced than first thought, he says.

The full news article can be found here : http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/17264679

A bit of bear news from my neck of the woods.

Grizzly bear attacks hikers in southeastern B.C.

CTVNews.ca
Published Monday, Nov. 26, 2012 7:55PM EST

Authorities in southeastern British Columbia are warning hikers of an aggressive bear after a man and woman were attacked Sunday while out on a hike in the East Kootenay region.

The pair had been walking in Cherry Creek, near Kimberley, B.C., around 3 p.m. when they came across a grizzly bear feeding on a deer it had previously killed.

“The hikers got within 15 feet, unknowingly, and it startled the grizzly bear,” Sgt. Joe Caravetta, of the East Kootenay Conservation Officer Service, said Monday.


Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/grizzly-be ... z2DRDWBF4D

Good to hear that the hikers are going to be okay and that the bears weren't destroyed.

Another news article relating to this story: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/11/26 ... 92490.html

Story of the rescue: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... erley.html

This article is interesting, but it leaves too many questions unanswered. Some of my questions were answered after I read the comments by the readers. I’m assuming that the hikers knew of the likely presence of bears in the area. At the very least, the article should have stated whether the hikers were carrying bear spray.