Vets have been left baffled by the condition of the bespectacled bear, who lives at a zoo in Leipzig.

And Dolores isn't the only one. The sudden hair loss has affected all female bears at the zoo.

Some experts believe it could be due to a genetic defect though the animals do not seem to be suffering from any other affliction.

The bears, which originate from South America, normally have fluffy dark brown fur and would now be growing a thicker fur coat to keep warm during the winter.

But instead they have developed nasty rashes and inflammations on their skin.

With more photos.

A 59-year-old Brazilian man has surprised his family by turning up at his own funeral, local media report.

Relatives of Ademir Jorge Goncalves, a bricklayer, had identified him as the victim of a car crash in southern Parana state the previous day.

Police told O Globo newspaper that relatives had trouble identifying the corpse because it was badly disfigured.

It emerged that Mr Goncalves had spent the night drinking a rum-like liquor called "pinga" with his friends.

He did not get word of his funeral until it was already happening on Monday morning, his niece Rosa Sampaio said.

She said some family members - including herself and the man's mother - had doubts, but an aunt and four friends had positively identified the body.

"What were we to do? We went ahead with the funeral," she told O Globo.

A police spokesman welcomed the happy ending: "Before long, the walking dead appeared at the funeral. It was a relief," the unnamed officer told the paper.

The body was correctly identified later, he said, and buried in another state.

For the youngster barely old enough to start senior school has just become a mother after going into labour during her wedding to her teenage boyfriend.

She was still wearing her flowing white dress and tiara when she arrived at hospital and gave birth to 5lb 8oz Violeta.

With proud husband Jeliazko Dimitrov, 19, at her side, Kordeza admitted: "It feels strange to be a mum and have a baby.

"I used to play with my toys but now she is my new toy. She is so beautiful, I love her. Violeta is the child and I must grow up. I am not going back to school - I am a mother now."

Kordeza met Jeliazko in the playground of her Roma gypsy school in Sliven, Bulgaria, when he rescued her from bullies.

Full story, with news video here.