Siberian Federal University 
- Issue
- Journal of Siberian Federal University. Biology. 2024 17 (4)
- Authors
- Seryodkin, Ivan V.
- Contact information
- Seryodkin, Ivan V. : Pacific Geographical Institute FEB RAS Vladivostok, Russian Federation; ORCID: 0000-0003-4054-9236
- Keywords
- Balaenoptera acutorostrata; Ursus arctos; competition; marine mammals; scavenging; Balaenoptera acutorostrata; Ursus arctos
- Abstract
Cetacean carcasses are a major food source for scavengers inhabiting coastal regions, which causes brown bears (Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758) to form short-lived gatherings. Brown bears feeding on a common minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata Lacepede, 1804) carcass were observed under natural conditions on the eastern coast of Sakhalin in July-August 2013 using a camera trap combined with direct visual observation. The observed bears thoroughly consumed all edible parts of the whale carcass in 23 days. At least 15 brown bears were observed participating in the feeding frenzy, including three adult females accompanied by five cubs, three adult males, and four individuals of undetermined sex and age. At times, up to five bears were seen feeding on the carrion simultaneously. Bears of different sex and age showed both tolerant and competitive behaviours, the latter manifested in intimidation against subordinate individuals. Bears fed on the whale carcass at any time of the day, giving the way to others once they were satiated. The hierarchical structure of the observed group and their tolerant behaviour toward each other were the factors that ensured access to high-calorie food for all individuals in the temporary group
- Pages
- 488–491
- EDN
- TMMGAM
- Paper at repository of SibFU
- https://elib.sfu-kras.ru/handle/2311/154343
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).