Himalayan bear upper and lower jaw bones pathology singularity (Ursus thibetanus, G. cuvier, 1823) in the Primorsky region

The purpose of research is to use osteological material in the form of the skull and lower jaw of the Himalayan bear, on the basis of a scientifically based methodological approach, to determine the age and type of disease of the animal. The object of the study was the material in the form of a corpse of a Himalayan bear. For the study, the skull was presented, separated from the carcass, without skin, in a boiled state, the lower jaw was separated from the upper. The age of the animal was determined by the method of G.A. Klevezal on fangs, which were subjected to decalcification in a 5-7 % solution of concentrated nitric acid during the day, and then on a transverse cut of a tooth (canine) stained with hematoxylin, annual rings were counted. Changes in the bones of the head skeleton were assessed visually using hand loupes ×4 and ×7 magnification. The architectonics of the bones was assessed on cuts of altered areas obtained with an electric jigsaw (JAW, 2013). The type of disease was determined by visual inspection when studying the osteological material of the Himalayan bear (skull and lower jaw). The age of this bear is 7-8 years, but since a strong destruction of the canines and a satisfactory condition of the incisors and molars were revealed, the results obtained cast doubt on the above age of the animal, therefore, a second check was made on sections of the premolars, which confirmed the above age at 7- 8 years. The detected pathology is not of an inflammatory nature and arises as a result of a violation of metabolic processes, starting not from the gums, but from the bone sections of the jaw, which apparently takes place in the case under study. The reason for this condition of the fangs and jaws of the studied bear skull was most likely periodontal disease - periodontal disease, which is based on tissue degeneration caused by malnutrition and, as a result, destruction, often a consequence of gum inflammation (gingivitis).