fur

But now affluent and middle-class urban Indians like Ms Bapna are splurging more on their "fur babies", fuelling a boom in India's pet care industry that has almost doubled in value in recent years.

They are the only bear species in the state, and, despite the name, their fur ranges in color from blond to black.

It’s important to note that long before the tick-tock and chiming of clocks, our ancestors — you know, that raggedy bunch dressed in animal fur — had to adapt to seasonal changes in daylight.

A similar outbreak was recorded last summer affecting more than 70 sea lions, as well as two dolphins and two fur seals along the coast in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

"We're not going to have guests walking around in fur coats all of a sudden," he says.