I don't know how many people read this on CNN.

In the Ocala National Forest in Florida, near Lynne, the black bear are bald. Mange related to mites is prevalent in 60% of the black bear population (90% of the females). The illness is being passed to the cubs as well.

It is causing the bears to lose their hair. People describe them as looking like a huge, bald rat.

In the pictures I saw they looked like very ugly dogs.

The bears seem to have no other health problems and the game officials are taking no steps to treat the condition.

It would be nearly impossible to catch and treat all the bears for mange. And dangerous. They will just have to suffer through the infestation.

We caught a grizzly bear last spring and Nair'ed it. Looked pretty silly naked, and he seemed rather embarassed.

We didn't do this just for a lark. We were starting to develop the extreme sport of paint balling grizzly bears. Our first team went out last May, and haven't checked back in, so we don't know how it's going so far.

All they would have to do to treat the bears is leave food items baited with Ivermectin which is a systemic wormer/antiparasitic medication. It kills interneal parasites as well and lice and mange mites.

Commonly used in horses, dogs, etc. We used to bait chicken carcasses with it for the foxes and coyotes to keep the mange killed off. Coons and skunks also benefited form eating it as it cleaned them out too. It is very inexpensive. A dose for a very large horse (one ton) costs about $20.00.

Otherwise the bears could be left to fend for themselves and some will die from the parasite. The bad thing as it will infect more than the bears.

I think this is important, so... "BTT."

Good post, Ann.

Russ

I've seen coyotes that have mange so bad that the only hair they have is on the tip of their tails. In any kind of reasonably cold weather they surely must die of exposure.

Does anyone have a pic?

What?!! you don't believe? We can sign you up on the next team!

For a picture go to CNN.com and scroll down to Offbeat News. Click on that, then look at the Dec. 11th list and click on Balder Than The Average Bear.

http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/South/12/11/offbeat.florida.bears.ap/index.html

Pretty ugly looking without the hair.

Turok

That is the funniest thing I've seen in a while.

-Steve

This is a good picture as far as bear anatomy goes. Notice how high the heart and lungs, and in fact, the whole chest is. On a bear with long hair in the spring here, many hunters shoot too low, maybe grazing the brisket, more often missing completely, if they haven't seen a bear up close. With long hair, the chest can appear to be six inches or more deeper.

Wstrnhuntr

Well, you've got people jumping off bridges with a rubber band tied to them, skiing shear cliffs, sky diving, and such. What would be wrong with paintballing grizzly bears? Consider it catch and release.

Give me something sensible like rodeo. Now that, I can understand!