ABOUT THE POLAR BEAR
General Information
The scientific name of the polar bear shown in Dr. Rosie Helps the Animals is Ursus maritimus, which means sea bear in Latin.
Polar Bears and Fevers
Do polar bears REALLY get fevers?
Facts
According to Dr. Todd Atwood, Research Wildlife Biologist, “the normal body temperature of polar bears can range between 98-102 degrees F. Above 102 would constitute a ‘fever.’” A fever is a temporary rise in body temperature that helps the immune system fight infections caused by bacteria and viruses. Polar bears do not get infections very often because they tend to be solitary animals that do not interact much with other unrelated polar bears or other kinds of animals that can spread bacteria or viruses to them. With sea ice melting, however, polar bears are increasingly coming in contact with other animals (including human tourists) that can transmit diseases to them.
Causes
According to Dr. Atwood, “a fever could be caused by illness or overheating from exertion in warm weather.” Some illnesses that cause fever in polar bears are brucella, caused by bacteria that can spread through the air or through direct contact with infected animals, phocine distemper caused by a virus that normally affects seals, leptospirosis caused by bacteria, and canine distemper, a highly contagious disease caused by a virus that is similar to measles.
Symptoms
According to Dr. Atwood, “One of the observable symptoms of a fever is rapid respiration (generally > 16 breaths per minute) as the bear tries to cool itself.” Although Dr. Atwood has “never seen a polar bear shivering in the wild, he supposes it could happen in response to a fever.”
In captivity, the following symptoms have been observed:
- Shivering
- Loss of appetite
- Rapid breathing (panting)
- Weakness, lethargy
- Dehydration
Diagnosis
Dr. Atwood says to make a diagnosis “We take the temperature of every bear we handle, along with oral and nasal swabs and blood for testing for exposure to pathogens and general health. So, for example, if we have a bear with an elevated temperature, we can cross-reference the blood panel results to see if the bear has an elevated white blood cell count (evidence of an activated immune response) and evidence of exposure to one or more pathogens.”
Treatments
Dr. Atwood says, “We don’t really “treat” the animal from a clinical perspective because we are on sea ice and have no real-time diagnostic capability. If a bear has an elevated temperature, we’ll try and cool it down by packing snow under the armpits and on the belly. (Obviously, the bears are immobilized for this).”
Fiction
In Dr. Rosie Helps the Animals, Rosie sits next to a polar bear and puts an oral thermometer in its mouth to see if the bear has a fever. In reality, polar bears can be very dangerous and they need to be sedated in order to take their temperature. When they are sedated, a rectal thermometer is used rather than an oral thermometer.
Learn More
References
Polar Bears Face New Disease Threat
Dr.Todd Atwood, Ph.D. Research Wildlife Biologist and Project Leader, United States Geological Survey (USGS), Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK
Image Credit: iStock.com/USO
