That's paw-some! Wild bears do the TWIST to flirt with potential mates through their smelly footprints
- Dancing releases 20 different smells from their paws which other bears pick up
- Bears carefully step into pre-existing footprints and twist their paws
- The scent trails send strong messages to rivals and love interests alike
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For brown bears, doing the boogie is all about getting a bit of attention.
These solitary bears rarely meet each other so have developed a long-distance messaging system to communicate who's on the prowl.
Twisting as they walk releases scents from their footprints which communicates their sex, identity and reproductive state to potential love interests and rivals alike.
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Researchers from the Institute of Nature Conservation in Krakow found brown bears use glands in their paws to communicate their sex and reproductive state (stock image)
Researchers from the Institute of Nature Conservation in Krakow, Poland found brown bears use glands in their paws to secrete chemicals that act as potent symbols to others.
Far from being a bit of fun, these moves help release 20 different smells from their paws which are picked up by bears that might cross into their range.
The behaviour involves carefully stepping into pre-existing footprints and twisting their paws.
Often bears mark the same trail year after year which helps them mark their territory.
They use this communication to ward off competitors as well as look for a mate.
The researchers studied wild bears from northern Carpathians in Poland between 2014 and 2016.
They also filmed the 'dancing' behaviour of bears in the Cantabrian mountains in Spain for a period of three years, writes New Scientist.
From a sample of 15 bears, researchers observed 81 cases of them dancing in order to leave a scent and the practice was most common among males.
The study demonstrates that brown bears have pedal glands that produce specific scents. From a sample of 15 bears, researchers observed 81 cases of them dancing in order to leave a scent and the practice was most common among males
'Chemical signalling is a widespread mode of communication amongst the vast majority of organisms, both terrestrial and aquatic', the researchers, led by Dr Agnieszka Serg iel, said in their paper, which is published in Nature.
'Among mammals, odours play a key role in communication, with chemical signalling used to inform about identity, sex, territorial borders, social status, reproductive state or group membership.
'The presence of sweat glands recently found in polar bear paws suggest that scent marks can be also passively deposited while walking', they said.
A snapshot from the camera in the studied marking site with visible depressions from previous footprint markings (left) and a brown bear individual stretching to match the marks (right)
The researchers studied wild bears from northern Carpathians in Poland (pictured) between 2014 and 2016. They also filmed the 'dancing' behaviour of bears in the Cantabrian mountains in Spain for a period of three years
Last year's Planet Earth II showed a bear twerking against a tree in the woods along to the Pussycat Dolls' dance floor filler 'Don't cha'.
The footage was shot with camera traps in the Canadian Rockies and showed adult bears rubbing their backs and heads against the bark.
Wildlife experts believe bears rub up against trees in this way for a number of reasons.
Rubbing their thick fur against a tree, grizzly bears in Canada can scent mark an area, leaving their calling card for other bears.
Other times, the bears may be just scratching an itch from carrying all that thick, warm winter fur in the summer forest.