Leaving a scent behind to attract a potential mate? That is possible wth polar bears.

Polar bears apply specific scents for tracks of fellow bears they want to meet with the possibility of mating, and are using scent as a clue to avoid bears that may compete with them for food, or would simply hurt them.

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Their favorite time for leaving scents is during the spring mating season.

However, researchers said that the changing climate in theArctic region is a big threat in this process and may endanger the species.

Researchers from the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research discovered that polar bear paws contain scent-producing glands and drop DNA and traces of urine.

The study suggests that this lets polar bears to identify them or mark a certain territory.

The researchers gathered scent samples from the feet of both male and female bears from the wild. Some female bears are receptive to mating and others are not. In order to obtain the scent, the experts spent five years and cleaned the toes of sedated bears. The swabbed samples were frozen and stored.

They let bears from American zoos sniff the smeared scent in a cardboard. The cardboard is placed inside a wooden box with holes so that polar bears won't be able to lick the swabbing, which might contain pathogens.

The study revealed that male bears fight each other just to locate the female scent and try to compete in winning over the female bear. The male bears are more interested in looking for mates during the spring.

With the climate warming and sea fractures diminishing, conservationists worry that polar bears may lose each other’s tracks that will lead to difficulty in finding a partner and reproducing.

Captive breeding programs might not work as well, according to conservationists, because they don't have enough data that could lead to full understanding of what makes a male polar bear attracted to females.

TagsPolar bears, scent, scent from footprints, spring mating season, mating season, Arctic region, bear