Black bear’s body heals its wounds

The team released their findings after chasing and monitoring 1,000 black bears in Minnesota for 25 years.

Studies showed that many animals with wounds caused by gunshots or arrows were completely healed after hibernation.

The research was part of a project by scientists from the universities of Minnesota, Wyoming and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

The team carefully tracked the healing of small cuts on the skin of 14 of their radio-collared bears in northern Minnesota.

They checked the animals between November (when the bears first settled down in their dens) and March (about a month before they emerged) and found that the wounds healed with “minimal evidence of scarring”.

“It seems so surprising to us that their wounds would heal so well and so completely when they’re hibernating and their metabolism is slowed down,” said Prof David Garshelis of the University of Minnesota calling it a sort of remarkable adaptation to hibernation.

Researchers hope their findings help scientists find way to improve human wound-healing, particularly slow-healing and heal infection-prone wounds in the elderly, malnourished or diabetic patients.

FGP/TE

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