In New Hampshire, four bears died after eating chocolate.

In the US state of New Hampshire, four bears died from heart failure caused by eating chocolate and donuts. Hunters used sweets as bait to lure animals from the forest.

The incident occurred in September last year, but the results of the autopsy became known only now. In total, the two mother bears and two cubs ate about 45 kilograms (90 pounds) of treats - first donuts and then chocolate, local publication Concord Monitor reports.

The bodies of the predators were found near the place where the bait was laid out.

Employees of the University of New Hampshire who performed the autopsy determined that the specific cause of death of the bears was an overdose of theobromine, a toxic organic substance that, like caffeine, is part of cocoa beans. It was also found that the animals were healthy and did not suffer from any diseases.

Theobromine is an alkaloid and is used in medicine for the treatment of bronchopulmonary diseases. Its content in chocolate is too low to cause poisoning in humans, but in animals the metabolization of this alkaloid occurs more slowly. Theobromine is especially toxic to cats, dogs, horses, parrots and various rodents.

In connection with the incident, the authorities of New Hampshire stated that they were going to initiate the adoption of a law that prohibits hunters from using chocolate as bait. In this state, such an incident occurred for the first time, but similar cases occurred in the US before. So, in 2011, a bear cub and several raccoons in Michigan were poisoned with theobromine.

A source - newsru.com