Dormancy also includes decreased respiratory and heart rate, and decreased metabolic rate. The bear's body temperature drops slightly. Bears can sleep for over 100 days without eating, drinking or throwing away trash!
Will the bear die if I wake up from hibernation?
For hibernating animals, early awakening calls can be quite fatal, not just inconvenient. Waking up from hibernation requires a lot of energy and runs out of key reserves to survive the winter. Bears are not the only ones at risk if they wake up from hibernation at the wrong time.
Do bears sleep for 4 months?
Unlike animals that stir regularly during hibernation, bears can go for up to 100 days without having to wake up to eat or pass anything, compared to normal hibernators. It's much easier to get excited. The US National Parks Authority suggests that they are super high burners.
What if I wake up a sleeping bear?
Body temperature drops. Their breathing and heart rate slow down. Their bodies also slowly begin to burn calories. These changes allow bears to survive longer on their body fat.
Why do bears sleep for 6 months?
We commonly refer to bear hibernation as hibernation, but it is actually a process called dormancy. Hibernation is a response to food shortages, low temperatures, and snow on the ground. It can last for weeks in warmer regions of North America and 6 months for bears in Alaska (NPS2015).
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