The April Fools Bear

It's not unusual to this picture floating around on the internet, especially on April Fool's Day.  So in case you do, no, no one has managed to finally capture an elusive Chupacabra.  This (unfortunate) animal is an Andean bear who is suffering from some crazy hair loss.  Hair loss in older female Andean bears isn't uncommon, but this... this is something else.  Even with 90% of the fur gone, it's interesting that the characteristic markings around the eyes are still present.

Bears are strange animals.  On the one hand, they can be absolutely terrifying, and many people are very scared of them to a degree that has become soaked into pop culture.  They're the Chuck Norris of zoo animals, in their own way.  On the other, people also love them - we have Teddy bears, not Teddy raccoons or Teddy badgers.  Bears are also some of the zoo animals that have been with us the longest, going back thousands of years.  This month, we'll be spending some time delving into the wonderful world of bears.