Before this gets blown out. German Bare...

[mynameis]

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2009/11/06/alg_hairless_bear.jpg

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/pets/2009/11/06/2009-11-06_bare_bears_bald_bears_baffle_zoo_vets_trying_to _decipher_mysterious_hair_loss.html

[truth finder]

It would explain a lot of things..

[venividivici2311]

I think i have a decent explenation about the hair loss.....maybe the poor animals are stressed out....thats natural,i would loose al my hair UP and down if i was caged and 1000s of people came to see me every day,take pictures,scream etc etc....

[ozpixie]

I think i have a decent explenation about the hair loss.....maybe the poor animals are stressed out....thats natural,i would loose al my hair UP and down if i was caged and 1000s of people came to see me every day,take pictures,scream etc etc....

Well said. Poor thing.

[batou]

The bears are called Andean bears (or spectacled or Sun)

Found this:

www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/IBN_Newsletters/IBN_May_2009.pdf (http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/IBN_Newsletters/IBN_May_2009.pdf)

Sorry about the formatting :(


Update on an
Investigation into
a Chronic Skin
Disorder among
Captive Andean
Bears in North
America
Megan Owen
San Diego Zoo-Collection Husbandry
Science
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
Email: mowen@sandiegozoo.org
Jacob Shanks
San Diego Zoo-Collection Husbandry
Science
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
Email: shanksja@yahoo.com
Meg Sutherland-Smith
San Diego Zoo-Veterinary Services
Email: msutherlan@sandiegozoo.org
Gaylene Thomas
San Diego Zoo-Collection Husbandry
Science
Email: gthomas@sandiegozoo.org
Russ Van Horn
San Diego Zoo’s Institute for
Conservation Research-Applied
Animal Ecology
Email: rvanhorn@sandiegozoo.org
Introduction
Some captive Andean bears
(Tremarctos ornatus) in North
America suffer from a chronic skin
condition with progressive hair loss.
This also occurs in captive Andean
bears in Europe (Lydia Kolter, per-
sonal communication) and in South
America (Andrés Bracho, personal
communication; personal observa-
tion). Given that this condition
occurs in captive bears on separate
continents housed in very different
environments and enclosures, fed
different diets, we believe it is unlikely
that this condition results from a
common allergic reaction or an infec-
tion. Therefore, the objectives of this
investigation are to characterize this
condition, identify the risk factors and
consequences, and identify potential
treatments or mitigation measures.
Methods
In May 008 we began using an
online survey to collect data on the
North American captive Andean
bears. Among other mammals, skin
disorders and hair loss may result
from “stress”, nutritional deficiencies,
endocrinological disruption, or the
action of parasites or pathogens. Be-
cause of the wide range of risk factors,
we requested information on both
husbandry and veterinary variables.
Requests for participation were sent
to husbandry and veterinary staff
responsible for the care of Andean
bears (40 males, 7 females) housed in
North American zoos.
One pitfall of using a survey to
collect data is that not everyone will
respond. There may also be a greater
response from institutions housing
affected bears. To counter these
issues, we aim to obtain data for all
of the female Andean bears in North
America and an equal number of
males, for a sample size of ~50 bears.
We will attempt to increase the re-
sponse rate by twice soliciting survey
responses by email or by telephone
contact. We will halt data collection
after three targeted solicitations. In
addition to gathering more husbandry
and veterinary data on the North
American bears, we seek information
from elsewhere.
Once all data have been collected,
we will construct logistic regression
models to estimate variation in the
probability of occurrence of chronic
progressive hair loss. Because there
may be many statistically significant
models, we will use an information-
theoretic approach (i.e., Akaike’s
Information Criterion, AIC) to select
the most parsimonious explanatory
model, while following recommended
guidelines for interpreting and
reporting these results. Results will
be distributed to respondents, and
submitted for publication in a peer-
reviewed journal.
Results
Due to a technical problem with
our online survey, our initial request
for online data submission yielded
too few veterinary data for analyses.
However, we have collected husbandry
data for 38.5% of the Andean bears
in North America (17 males, 15
females), living at 17 zoos accredited
by the AZA (Association of Zoos and
Aquariums). All these bears were born
in captivity. Although we have data on
only a minority of the population, if
we have already identified all affected
bears the prevalence rate in North
American zoos would be 7.5% (5 of 67
bears).
Six of the 31 bears (19.4%) for which
we have husbandry data currently
have chronic skin conditions. One
case differs in several aspects from the
others, so at present we believe this
bear has a different condition. In the
other 5 cases there is a progression of
symptoms over years. The affected
areas of skin become hyperpigmented,
and there is a greatly reduced density
of hair follicles, eventually resulting
in a permanent loss of hair in affected
areas, which can cover up to ~30% of
the torso and limbs.

-------------------

Then this

http://blogs.sandiegozoo.org/blog/2008/12/01/andean-bear-symposium/

I presented the preliminary results of a survey conducted on captive Andean bears in North America. This survey is a joint effort between various groups at the San Diego Zoo: veterinarians, husbandry staff, and researchers. We’re working to identify the risk factors associated with chronic and progressive hair loss among captive Andean bears so that we can then form and test hypotheses about the underlying cause and develop effective responses. Through our work, we’ve realized that this condition is relatively common among female Andean bears in captivity, and we’ve formed some hypotheses as to what might cause this hair loss. We need to collect additional data, though, before we can reach conclusions and suggest treatments or preventative measures.



With a comment follow up:

We’re planning to continue our investigation into hair loss among captive Andean bears. One of our hypotheses is that the hair loss is linked to stress, but we’re still collecting data to test this idea, and identify the source(s) of the stress.




TL;DR:
Not unusual. Probably stress from captivity.