# Gross- adult roundworms in bear poo?



## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

I collect some photos of bear sign, I often have hiking clients that are interested in that kind of thing.

When walking the dog today we were following some bear tracks (they are everywhere, you can't walk anywhere without seeing bear sign this time of year).

Being a raw feeder I am into looking at animal poo (sick, but true). I like to see what the animals have been eating certain times of year, how long since they passed by and so on. Most bear poo is filled with berries at present looking like big plops of varing jam like consistancy.

So today I had to go home and get my camera when I saw this ugly bear poo, full of what I think are adult roundworms of some sort. Most were at least 8 inches long. I admitt I put my cell phone a little close to that mess, but I wanted to give some prospective#-o Never seen anything like this before so thought I would share and ask some questions to the folks that know something about parasites and worms than I do.

What causes adult roundworms to be shed in feces? It is not a listed part of the normal lifecycle. Is it just overload in the intestines that causes some to be pooped out? Can the animal still be healthy (relitively-this is a wild animal)?


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## Jack Martin (Feb 12, 2008)

Yea, that is gross. Maybe he ate some compost that didn't sit right?


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Jennifer Coulter said:


> What causes adult roundworms to be shed in feces? It is not a listed part of the normal lifecycle. Is it just overload in the intestines that causes some to be pooped out? Can the animal still be healthy (relitively-this is a wild animal)?


Both eggs and adult roundworms can be shed in feces. Adults can appear in vomit too.

I would guess that there are a zillion eggs for every adult worm that's passed, but that's JMO.

I don't know if the animal could still be healthy at a stage of passing a lot of adults. It could pass eggs and still be healthy.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

P.S. Is it usual for bear poop to be that liquid?


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## Lynn Cheffins (Jul 11, 2006)

Hey - nice bear splat pics!=D> 
Heavy worm load or stuff that causes lots of gut motility can move roundworms out as probably some stuff that animals eat does also- roundworms are quite resilient and what makes wormers work is that is paralyzes the mouthparts of the worm so they can't hang on to the inside of the animal - and thus they come out wiggly.
Roundworm loads cause more problems in young or already debilitated animals than they do in healthy adults.
An old guy told me they used to give gunpowder and moose hair to get rid of worms....


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Lynn Cheffins said:


> Hey - nice bear splat pics!=D>


Well, I thought so too, but I'm not really an expert.


:lol:


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## David Scholes (Jul 12, 2008)

Connie Sutherland said:


> P.S. Is it usual for bear poop to be that liquid?


No. Usually thinner than most dog poo but normally at least firm enough to form a pile without all the goo. At least in AZ bears. This bear is either sick or ate something that effected both him and the worms. Maybe self medicated on some plant to make his tummy feel better... just speculating. Bears are omnivores.


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

Connie Sutherland said:


> P.S. Is it usual for bear poop to be that liquid?


Bear poo can take on many forms according to diet, here are some pictures:
http://www.bear-tracker.com/blackbearscat.html

She is missing some types like the earlier season grassy poos like this one, most are also quite old unlike this quality shot  :











The bear in question definately had the runs. It was the only fresh poop I saw today, though all other older piles (5 days to two weeks old) have looked what I would consider normal. 

I have seen very liquid poo near a carcass (lots of organ and muscle meat consumed), but even then it was not as "mucousy" as this one.


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

What a great way to start the day... :mrgreen: 

If the bear is having diarrhea, the worms can be just forced out along with everything. Like in other animals. And correct me if I'm wrong, they can have diarrhea for emotional reasons, like being stressed/scared or chased around by another bear - not necessarily from something they ate...

Don't know how healthy he would be with worms like that. My only experience with worms was with my first puppy, who was full of every parasite you could think of. And she was NOT healthy... :-&


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

As I head out for a mountain bike ride tonight, I really hope that the bear is not too sick and hungry


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

yuk!

note to self: Never ask to borrow Jennifer's cell phone.


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## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

I can't believe I'm looking at pictures of bear poop on the 'net. All of them. Including the link.

I need a life.


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## todd pavlus (Apr 30, 2008)

Who would've thought a discussion on poo would be so intriguing. I never actually inspected or thought about poo that much, let alone taken pictures of it.:lol:


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

Jennifer Coulter said:


> As I head out for a mountain bike ride tonight, I really hope that the bear is not too sick and hungry



Well it WAS eventfull and the woods are NOT safe, but it is not all the bear's fault.

On my bike ride tonight I spied a magnificent bull moose that I have seen a number of times this summer (I call him "Bully"...creative I know8) )

On my way back around the same spot I watched a hunter shoot Bully (the hunter was not there 20 min earlier). Lucky hunter shot the very large moose about 10 meters from his truck. "Bully" was just munching along and walked right up to the hunter in front of me (I was about 100 meters behind the hunter) The moose did not drop right away so I left the area so as not to get shot or injured. 

A triple reminder for me about the dangers of this time of year:
1. The dog or I could get shot by a hunter, seriously.

2. The bear will be on the downed animals gut (and what ever else is left) pile post haste. I usually do not know where gut piles are and don't want to run into bears on them. 

3. Don't name the animals as you might be sad to see them get shot #-o (I will be going moose hunting in Ont later this season, but won't be hunting MY moose [-X ) Okay, I know I am soft....


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Cool, if not gross, photos! I'm in parasitology right now, so _Trichinella spiralis_ was the main one I thought of when we learn about bears. It's the one that causes trichinellosis in humans and eating undercooked pork and also why you or your dogs shouldn't eat bear meat without thoroughly cooking it. But Trichinella is really small compared to a lot of the nematodes, not nearly that big. Unfortunately my veterinary textbook doesn't have a section on bears that I could find, so I could forward the pictures to my professors if you're curious.


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

Maren Bell Jones said:


> Cool, if not gross, photos! I'm in parasitology right now, so _Trichinella spiralis_ was the main one I thought of when we learn about bears. It's the one that causes trichinellosis in humans and eating undercooked pork and also why you or your dogs shouldn't eat bear meat without thoroughly cooking it. But Trichinella is really small compared to a lot of the nematodes, not nearly that big. Unfortunately my veterinary textbook doesn't have a section on bears that I could find, so I could forward the pictures to my professors if you're curious.


I also thought of Trichinella, but some research revealed that they are smaller. I am totally curious, I was so hoping you would respond:grin:


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

Jennifer Coulter said:


> I also thought of Trichinella, but some research revealed that they are smaller. I am totally curious, I was so hoping you would respond:grin:


_Ascaris_ something or other is my guess? I only know what heavy trichinella infestations look like in muscle meat, looks peppered with little white inclusions...

I'd be curious to know what they are, too...


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## David Scholes (Jul 12, 2008)

Maren Bell Jones said:


> Cool, if not gross, photos! I'm in parasitology right now, so _Trichinella spiralis_ was the main one I thought of when we learn about bears. It's the one that causes trichinellosis in humans and eating undercooked pork and also why you or your dogs shouldn't eat bear meat without thoroughly cooking it. But Trichinella is really small compared to a lot of the nematodes, not nearly that big. Unfortunately my veterinary textbook doesn't have a section on bears that I could find, so I could forward the pictures to my professors if you're curious.


I had a friend offer me some bear jerky once... just dehydrated uncooked. I warned him about trichinosis but he kept eating. Luckily no problems. The bear meat I've had is good but I'd never eat it raw or pork for that matter. Especially seeing what my grandparents used to feed the pigs... road kill, dead animals... factory hogs are probably fine but who knows where they come from or what they're fed.


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## Konnie Hein (Jun 14, 2006)

I thought I was the only person on the planet who took pics of animal poop! 

My horse was full of those critters when I first got him. He looked and acted perfectly healthy. Here's a pic of some of these critters in my horse's droppings a day or so after I wormed him for the first time:









Studies show that bears do have significantly more intestinal parasites in their stool before hibernation. 
http://www.jwildlifedis.org/cgi/reprint/35/3/618.pdf


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

Konnie Hein said:


> http://www.jwildlifedis.org/cgi/reprint/35/3/618.pdf


Thought this was interesting from the above article:
"Some researchers have speculated that
bears, shortly before hibernation, void
most of the adult endoparasites that derive
nourishment from host ingesta (Rush,
1932; Rausch, 1954). Pre-denning losses of
gastrointestinal parasites with subsequent
reinfection in spring have been attributed
to bears changing their diet (Rausch, 1954;
Rausch, 1961; Frechette and Rau, 1978).
However, evidence in support of bears
voiding adult parasites is limited and causal
factors remain questionable."

Thanks for that link Konnie, nice to know I am not alone in my poo picture taking


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