AboutJonathan Wright Expertise I can answer questions about wild mammals, as well as other wild animals. I can also answer questions on extinct animals and zoos.
PLEASE DON'T SEND ME ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT PETS. IF YOU ARE REALLY WORRIED, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A VETERINARIAN. PLEASE DO NOT ASSUME THAT UNPAID PEOPLE ON ALLEXPERTS ARE AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY AND WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH ADVICE THE MOMENT YOUR ANIMAL GETS ILL. Find out how to look after a pet before you get it. It is unfair to keep an animal in inappropriate conditions and give it the wrong food. If you can't keep an animal in good conditions, please don't bring it into your home. I'm not a vet and I don't have any expertise in animal medicine and care. I don't agree with people taking animals out of the wild and then expecting other people to give free advice on how to look after them. It is cruel to take animals away from their parents, who are able to look after the babies and may look for them, while putting their other babies at risk. You may need a licence to look after some animals. You may be breaking the law by keeping wild animals; please check with a local wildlife organisation.
IF YOU FIND AN INJURED ANIMAL, PLEASE CONTACT A WILDLIFE VETERINARIAN OR CHARITY AND LET TRAINED STAFF LOOK AFTER THE ANIMAL. DO NOT TRY TO LOOK AFTER AN INJURED ANIMAL IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
Please do not remove eggs from nests. The mother birds will know the right temperature for the eggs and will not sit on them if the temperature is warm enough for them to develop naturally. It is illegal to remove eggs of some species and, unless you have an incubator or a broody hen, the egg may not develop. If you are allowed to touch the eggs, you can candle them (check details on websites) to see if the eggs are fertile. If the eggs are not fertile, they will not hatch.
I do not agree with fights between different animals. Please do not ask me questions about them.
Experience I have a zoology degree and have been interested in animals since I was two years old. I am a zoo volunteer at London Zoo. I have appeared on a BBC Radio Quiz, 'Wildbrain'.
Organizations World Wide Fund for Nature. Zoological Society of London. London Bat Group.
Publications Newsletters of London Zoo volunteers and the London Bat Group
Education/Credentials BSC degree in Zoology. 'A' levels in Zoology and Chemistry. 'O' Level in Biology.
Question Do bears put a plug of moss up their backsides before they hibernate to stop ants or other small creatures going up there?
Answer Dear Cath
Thanks for your question. I have looked up various websites and, while they contain some conflicting information, there is no confirmation that “bears put a plug of moss up their backsides” before hibernating.
http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:wihD2z9MQ0MJ:www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publicati... states that just before the bear beds down, it usually eats a laxative-type food to clean out its intestines. It then eats a last meal of tough, fibrous roots that form an intestinal plug or tappen that remains in place until spring. The tappen may also be composed of pine needles mixed with hair licked from the bear's coat. The stomach then contracts into a tight, hard knot to prevent any further intake of food, and the bear is ready to sleep.
http://www.nps.gov/yell/nature/animals/bear/infopaper/info10.html and http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/may97/859503366.Zo.r.html state that bears were thought to eat roughage prior to den entrance. This would scour their digestive tract and form a plug in the anus to prevent them from eating any more food that fall. Instead, the plug or ‘tappen' is made up of faeces, dead intestinal cells, hair, and bedding material. It forms during hibernation and not before. As bears do not eat during the winter hibernation period, there is little build up of nitrogenous wastes, so they do not urinate or defeecate. They produce some faeces, but the plug may keep the bear from defecating inside the den during hibernation as faecal plugs are found just inside or outside the dens of bears that have just emerged.
http://www2.cddc.vt.edu/gutenberg/etext05/8032410h.htm#13 says that some authorities believe that, as bears develop fat reserves in autumn, the fat produces carbon, which induces sleepiness. As the stomach becomes empty, it shrivels or draws into a very small space. It is rendered totally useless by a substance called 'tappen' that clogs it and the intestines. The tappen is formed of pine leaves and other material that the animal takes from ants' nest and the trunks of trees in its search after honey. During hibernation, the bear seems to live on its fat, while the tappen prevents its too rapid consumption.
In summary, the tappen forms inside the body and plugs the anus during hibernation. A bear does not place moss up its backside, nor does it place a rock there, which was one of my earlier questions. The tappen prevents faecal material leaking out of the bear's body and soiling its home during hibernation. Apart from hygiene, the smell of faces could attract enemies during a vulnerable period for the bear. The tappen is not produced to stop small animals going up the bear's backside, but its presence helps to prevent it. Whether ants would naturally want to go up a bear's backside is another question!
