The National Geographic Society this week announced that they had observed Brown Bears in Canada stripping bark from trees in order to fashion primitive sledges which they then used to slide down grass banks.Although playful behaviour has been observed in other species such as dolphins and apes, this is thought to be the first time that this activity has been observed in bears. Given the risk of injury and use of valuable calories, the article concludes that the activity can only be explained as the animals having "fun".
Brown bears are known to live a mainly solitary existence, and therefore have limited social interaction with their peers and it is thought that this may be a contributory factor in the behaviour. Bears have not until now been witnessed making or using tools, and the publication of this article will surely lead to
further research.Publication of the article prompted a number of similar reports, however these were quickly dismissed as elaborate hoaxes. The National Geographic Society confirmed today that "our preliminary investigations into squirrels playing darts in Arizona have proven to be unfounded and were in fact from a dubious source".
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