Between 2005 and 2007, USGS scientists studying black and grizzly bears captured video footage of the carnivores rubbing up against trees. Scent marking might be part of why the bears are exhibiting this behavior, but they probably just need a good scratch every now and then, too;
LiveScience also covered this behavior in a new article, saying the bears are "dancing," although it's definitely not as elaborate as this;
[ReBecca also covered this story in a bit more detail.]
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I have pointed to the fact that mtDNA genetics has suggested that the polar bear is actually a derived lineage of brown bears.
This is from Seabeck, Washington, across the water from Seattle.
I read an interesting article in the Alaska Dispatch News which examined interactions between arctic grizzly bears and polar bears. They found that although polar bears are larger, they tend to leave food sources when grizzly bears are around.
From here: "Cronin et al.
Great minds think alike! I put a very similar post together last night for my Saturday post (complete with Disney clip - although a different one) ;)
So it seems the Disney animators knew about using the tree as back scratcher years ago. Nice.
Ha! On my small screen, I didn't see what the second clip was, but I was humming that song to myself as I watched the first. I had to laugh when it came up in the second!