Height up to 3 meters, weight up to 1000 kilograms – bears can have such parameters, depending on the subspecies. Strong body, big head, claws – almost no one dreams of meeting this one person, so it’s worth going to the forest where representatives of these predators are rarely found. In this article, we read about Why do bears hibernate?
The second option is to go there in the winter when the bears are hibernating. But keep in mind that not all bears go to the nest in the winter. Representatives of great predators living in warmer countries can survive without seasonal sleep. Although the same polar bear, living at all in hot latitudes, also does not hibernate. The exception is breastfeeding or pregnancy. There is an explanation for everything.
What is bear hibernation?
From a scientific point of view, bear hibernation is not sound sleep. When the animal is in the nest, its metabolic process slows down. At the slightest danger, the animal quickly got up. The bear’s body temperature decreases only a few degrees – from 38 to 31-34. Sleep conditions are preceded by the appearance of lethargy among predators, slowness, and apathy. This, on an intuitive level, makes us look for a place to equip the room.
During hibernation, bears do not defecate or urinate: waste products are processed into protein, essential for its existence. The body is completely rebuilt into a new regime. Sleep duration depends on the natural state and the accumulated nutrients and ranges from 2.5 months to six months. So far, the animal has lost about 50% of its mass.
Nest, or bear bedroom
For the club foot to hibernate, two conditions are required: adequate accumulation of subcutaneous fat and a complete nest. The animal sleeping space is a space of about 1.0-1.2 meters and a length of 1.6-1.8 meters, and the entrance corridor reaches 2.5-3 meters. Interestingly, if you develop a winter predator, it will not always return to its nest. If for some reason, it is not suitable for sleeping, the bear will look for another.
Why do bears hibernate?
As mentioned above, this mammal species refers to animals with large dimensions. To feed, they need a lot of food. These predators are omnivorous, but some prefer animal food, some prefer vegetables. In winter, it’s hard to get a second one, and it’s hard to last long just by eating other animals for bears. The inability to eat usually leads to their hibernation.
Polar bears have no problems with food all year round because their diet consists of meat and seal fish. Therefore they do not need long sleep. Why do bears hibernate? Moreover, in winter, it is easier to hunt them on hard ice. But the polar bear is asleep. While on the go and more sensitive and short, in spring-winter.
Their brown relatives, due to lack of food, also fall into a state of hibernation. Sleep provides oxygen savings in the nest and the use of nutrients accumulated by the animals during the period of activity. What prevents it from storing so many grains, roots, nuts, and other foods is unknown.
Moving to a warmer climate for bears is tricky: they maintain a static image, making adventures only when finding new places to eat. It all comes together and forces us to find a different life in cold and hungry times.
Interesting facts
Bears also breed in the winter. Females give birth to offspring in dreams. Babies, where up to 5 children in the total litter, eat milk exclusively in the first months of their lives.
The common belief that is borne is a mistake not to starve completely while sleeping, sucking their feet. The feet of animals are adapted to walk on rocks, uneven ground, and other difficulties, so they are covered with a thick layer of skin. New ones begin to grow under it in winter, which bears “help” in dreams, bite. The second version is the elimination of discomfort from the exfoliation process. In addition, the young skin is very delicate, afraid of the cold, so the feet warm him with his breath and by licking his tongue.
Therefore, sleeping bears in winter is a necessity because predators survive the winter.
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