Bald Bears: A Mystery Health Condition at Leipzig Zoo

Leipzig Zoo veterinarians are baffled by a mysterious health condition that is causing resident bears to lose all their body hair. The hair loss problem started about two years ago, when some of the bears started balding. Interestingly, only female bears at the zoo have gone bald so far. Veterinarian do not suspect a bug could be causing this. Instead, they suspect a genetic defect could be behind the affliction. There are speculations different climate and diet can also be contributing factors. The bears affected are originally from South America. So far, the exhibit with balding bears has been a crowd-puller. People seem to be quite eager to see the unusual animals.

But, the German zoo is not the only one where bears are losing their fur. In many other zoos throughout Europe, curators are dealing with the same problem. International experts are working on the problem, but can't provide any definitive answer as to what might be causing bears to go bald quite yet.