The ecological and behavioral significance of short-term food caching in polar bears ( Ursus maritimus )

Arctic Science

article

Ian Stirling¹  Kristin L. Laidre²  Andrew E. Derocher¹  Rinie Van Meurs¹ 

[1] Wildlife Research Division, Department of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta;Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington

关键词: polar bear;    caching;    hoarding;    predation;    feeding;    scavenging.;   

DOI  :  10.1139/as-2019-0008

学科分类：地球科学(综合)

来源: NRC Research Press

【 摘 要 】

The paucity of observations of wild polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) caching of food (including hoarding, i.e., burying and remaining with a kill for up to a few days) has led to the conclusion that such behavior does not occur or is negligible in this species. We document 19 observations of short-term hoarding by polar bears between 1973 and 2018 in Svalbard, Greenland, and Canada. Short-term hoarding appears to be influenced by size of the kill and its remaining energetic value after the first meal has been consumed. Fat and meat from smaller seals, such as pup or yearling ringed seals ( Pusa hispida ), are largely devoured immediately, leaving little to hoard. Carcasses of adult ringed seals, harp seals ( Pagophilus groenlandicus ), and bearded seals ( Erignathus barbatus ) may be covered with snow to reduce the chance of kleptoparasitism by another bear or other scavengers visually detecting a dark spot on the ice, while the hoarding bear lies nearby. Hoarding of other species, such as beluga ( Delphinapterus leucas ) (calves or parts) or other polar bears, appears opportunistic. We review differences in caching, including short-term hoarding behavior between polar bears and brown bears ( U. arctos ), and hypothesize about factors that may have influenced their evolution.

【 授权许可】

CC BY