Apr 4, 2008 6:40 pm US/Eastern
Japanese Black Bear Shows Off Mad Twirling Skills
HIROSHIMA, Japan (CBS) ―
An Asiatic Black bear has attracted attention in a Japanese zoo, after keepers discovered it spends hours twirling a stick.
The bear, named Claude, lives in Asa Zoological park in Hiroshima, and spends hours on his stick, twisting and twirling it.
He has been obsessed with the sticks ever since he arrived at the zoo six years ago after his mother was caught in a trap and killed in the forests of Hiroshima.
Although he had let go of the sticks in the past few years, he has picked up the habit again lately.
"I don't know if it is because it is getting warmer lately, but he's on a roll," Yasuo Yakushiji said.
The zoo has prepared 15 sticks for Claude to play with, each being approximately 1.5 metres long and weighs 4 kilogrammes.
It is not known whether the bear's behaviour is dysfunctional, nevertheless Claude has attracted many visitors who want to see his kung-fu like exercise.
"I can't believe he's really twisting the stick," one visitor marvelled.
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