How do bears survive during hibernation?
Bears hibernate during the winter months in most areas of the world. Due to the highly insulating pelts of bears and their lower surface area to mass ratio than smaller hibernators, body heat is lost slowly which enables bears to cut their metabolic rate by 50-60% (Craighead and Craighead 1972; Rogers 1981).
How do bears not starve during hibernation?
Grizzly bears and black bears generally do not eat, drink, defecate, or urinate during hibernation. Bears live off of a layer of fat built up during the summer and fall months prior to hibernation. Waste products are produced, however, instead of disposing of their metabolic waste, bears recycle it.
How did the grizzly bear survive the winter without eating?
But get this: bears have microbes in their guts that, during the winter months, convert urea to nitrogen to make new amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein (link). With that, they are able to maintain lean body tissue in the comfort of their own dens without eating or eliminating waste.
Do some bears die during hibernation?
To survive long winters without eating, drinking, exercising, or passing wastes, hibernating bears cut their metabolic rates in half. Bears do not usually die of starvation in dens, most deaths from starvation are before or after hibernation and involve primarily cubs and yearlings. Disease is uncommon.
What months do grizzly bears hibernate?
Depending on snowfall, temperature and food supply, bears get ready for winter hibernation in late November. The denning period in Yellowstone National Park is approximately 5 months. Grizzly bears and black bears generally do not eat, drink, defecate, or urinate during hibernation.
Are bears repelled by human urine?
Answer: Pee, by any other name, still smells the same, and bears, lions, and other predators are interested in anything that smells interesting. They say human urine deters nosey bears. But the majority of experts oppose this view.
