If you visit Assiniboine Park Zoo and see a pair of polar bears in a sparring match, it’s no reason to be alarmed. According to the zoo, play-fighting is actually a common, natural and beneficial activity for polar bears. It explains this behaviour serves a variety of purposes, including maintaining strength, practicing for mating battles and simply passing the time. “We think the reason that they’re doing the play behaviour is because it has a number of benefits,” explained Stephen Petersen with Assiniboine Park Conservancy. “It could be them gaining skills, getting good at that sparring behaviour. It could be that they’re kind of sussing out the competition for the spring when they’re mating. And it could be that they’re just passing the time. They’ve got time on their hands waiting for the sea ice to form.” Back in 2022, the zoo’s conservation and research team decided to better understand this play behaviour and determine if it uses up a lot of energy. To do this, they used infrared technology to non-invasively measure the bears’ body temperatures while they were sparring. The data determined the bears’ body temperature increased during the fights. In fact, the zoo found the bears needed to stop and cool down when their temperatures rose two degrees, suggesting it takes a lot of energy for them to spar. “We think that they have a trade off between needing or wanting to do this play behaviour, this sparring behaviour and the benefits,” Petersen said. “But then also they’re covered in blubber, so they need to make sure that they don’t get too hot.” The zoo noted that polar bears tend to fight more often at the current time of year, adding that when they’re sparring near the pools, they can quickly cool off and play-fight for longer.
