![]() ![]() Black bears will also slough their paw pads during hibernation. Unique among mammals, black bears are able to recycle calcium back into their bones during hibernation, avoiding the erosion of bone (osteoporosis) that usually accompanies long periods of inactivity. This drowsy condition allows bears to defend themselves (and their cubs) more effectively should a predator visit the den. They will change position while in the den, they may awaken and move about, and they may be aroused. By October and November, large adult males can weigh well over 1000 pounds (454 kg). Most adult males typically weigh 600-900 pounds (272-408 kg) in mid-summer. They can stand 3-5 feet (.9-1.5 m) at the shoulder and measure 7-10 (2.1-3 m) feet in length. Once hibernating, bears do not eat, drink, urinate or defecate. Katmai’s brown bears are some of the largest bears in the world. During a black bear’s hibernation, its metabolic rate slows and its temperature may drop, but a safety mechanism prevents it from dropping too low. These animals require several weeks to reach a state of dormancy during which their metabolic rate and body temperature drops many degrees below normal. Hibernation of bears is different from other “true hibernators” such as bats, marmots, squirrels and rodents. Bears able to find sufficient food don’t den at all, remaining active all winter, while others will hibernate for periods and leave the den at various points throughout the winter. This period is shorter than in areas with harsher winters. ![]() Black bears eat relatively little meat (unlike grizzlies), occasionally killing deer or eating the carrion left by other predators.īlack bears in the Sierra Nevada usually den from mid-December through March or early April, using natural caves in talus slopes, snow caves, and hollow trees or logs to make a winter den. Bears in the Sierra regularly dig up yellow jacket nests and tear apart logs for carpenter ants. Insects are a bear’s most important animal food. If the winter is warm, and the acorn crop plentiful, some bears may remain active through the winter months, descending from the conifer forest to the oaks below. In autumn, acorns are critical to the bears’ desperate effort to gain the weight needed to survive winter, and bears can sometimes be spotted shaking acorns down from oak trees. Meadow plants, grasses, and tender herbs are the most important food sources before berries, seeds, and nuts ripen in late summer. The largest part of the Sierran black bears diet is vegetation. Like humans, bears are omnivores, eating both plants and animals. ![]()
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