Abstract 222 – Do animals use bear marking sites? A potential role for inter- and intra-specific communication by non-bear mammals

Hinako Katsushima and Itsuro Koizumi

Some mammals have conspicuous marking sites, such as rubbing trees of cheetahs and
communal latrines of otters. While such marking sites are considered to play important roles in
intraspecific communication, such odor or visual information may be used by other mammals
as well, for example, to detect potential predators. To investigate the potential roles of bear
marking sites for inter- and intra-specific communications by non-bear mammals, we evaluated
their behaviors at marking and control sites by camera trapping survey in Hokkaido Island,
northern Japan. During the study period, infra-red cameras set at brown bear rubbing trees and
control trees recorded over 3000 movies of 8 non-bear mammal species. Sika deer, common
prey species of brown bear, had fewer visiting events at the marking sites than control sites,
but they often smelled bear marking points when they visited. This may be a behavior assessing
the presence of potential predators and likely to reduce encounters with bears. Another
interesting behavior was rubbing of bodies by red foxes, competitively subordinate carnivore
species, at the same point as bear rubbing. They might have put bear’s odors on their bodies for
some reasons, like chemical camouflage. Foxes also made more sniffing and marking events at
the marking sites than control sites, perhaps to use for intra- or inter-specific communication.
Red squirrels made more sniffing event at bear marking sites than control sites. This may be an
anti-predator strategy for gaining information about bears. Other competitively subordinate
carnivore species that are rarely preyed by bears also marked at marking sites but at the same
frequency as control sites. Therefore, their use of bear marking sites would not be particularly
selected and the reason is likely for intra-specific communication rather than inter-specific
communication. Collectively, we suggest that bear marking sites are used by many other
mammals for inter- and intra-specific communication.