The cubs stay with their mother all summer and hibernate with her over the winter. It's a sure sign of spring: Bears are coming out of hibernation in search of food. 6. While its early in the season, we want to make sure these opportunistic animals do not turn to some “easy fixes” when searching for food. It can last a few weeks in warmer parts of North America to 6 months for bears in Alaska (NPS 2015). Their body temperature drops by only 7 or 8 degrees centigrade (instead of freezing like a ground squirrel). Bears do not go into complete hibernation the way rodents do. Bears are land mammals which can reach between 1.3 and 2.8 meters high. The following spring, she pushes them out of the den to be on their own. This is because the diversity of species is great. Bears lose half their body fat while hibernating. Bears . NPS Photo / Harlan Kredit. Hibernation is a response to a shortage of food, decreasing temperatures and snow on the ground. But do not feed the bears! Bears have the ability to remain stationary for longer periods than rodents without feeding or eliminating waste. Bears worldwide are coming out of hibernation a month or more ahead of schedule -- and scientists are blaming one of the hottest winters on record. Make sure to always practice bear safety when storing food. In northern areas of the U.S. and Canada, bears hibernate as long as 8 months without moving from their den. Most bears hibernate or den during the winter months. Fish and Wildlife will monitor the bears to make sure there is enough food at that location for the bears to come out of hibernation. When bears hibernate, their body temperature drops from 38 C to 33 C, and their heart rate goes from 50 beats a minute to 10. Especially bears in warmer climates like the Andian Bear, where they can find plenty of food all year round, so they have little reason to hibernate. 2. In what is typical behavior for bears, it can sometimes catch humans off guard. Herein lies the main difference in bear and rodent hibernation. Their heart rate slows from 50 beats per minute to about 10 beats per minute. The smallest bear species is the sun bear which can weigh around 60 to 170 lbs, but some larger bears can reach over 1,000 lbs.These physical characteristics make it one of the largest land animals on the planet. Hibernation Period: 5 – 7 months Although bears are famously known for hibernating, like many of the hibernators not all bears hibernate. Black Bear den . When people defined hibernation simply in terms of temperature reduction, bears were not considered hibernators. Hibernation. The Colorado Division of Wildlife would like to inform us that the bears are now emerging from hibernation and they extremely hungry. Bears that eat human food can lose their preference for natural food sources and their fear of humans. Bear and rodent hibernation mother all summer and hibernate with her over the winter diversity of is. 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