Who's taken my fur coat? Vets baffled by bald bears with mystery condition

By Daily Mail Reporter
Created: 16:51 EDT, 3 November 2009


You'd have thought a fur coat would have been the ultimate bear necessity.

But not for the unfortunate Dolores who has lost all her body hair and has just been left with a few tufts around her head. 

Vets have been left baffled by the condition of the bespectacled bear, who lives at a zoo in Leipzig.

Bare-faced: Dolores has a condition which means she has gone totally bald

Bare-faced: Dolores has a condition which means she has gone totally bald

And Dolores isn't the only one. The sudden hair loss has affected all female bears at the zoo. 

Some experts believe it could be due to a genetic defect though the animals do not seem to be suffering from any other affliction.

The bears, which originate from South America,  normally have fluffy dark brown fur and would now be growing a thicker fur coat to keep warm during the winter.

Wrinkly: All the female bears at the zoo have the same condition. They have become a bit of a crowd puller

Wrinkly: All the female bears at the zoo have the same condition. They have become a bit of a crowd puller

Where's my fur coat gone? Dolores still has a ring of fur around her face. She lethal claws are clearly visible

Where's my fur coat gone? Dolores still has a ring of fur around her face. She lethal claws are clearly visible

But instead they have developed nasty rashes and inflammations on their skin.

Unfortunately for the bears, their lack of hair has been pulling in the crowds who want to see want to see the wrinkly animals.

Hopefully the zoo will be turning up the heat in their enclosure.

Full head of hair: These is how Dolores would have looked before she lost her fur. The spectacled bears have a thick, dark coat normally

Full head of hair: These is how Dolores would have looked before she lost her fur. The spectacled bears have a thick, dark coat normally

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