What is hibernation? When do bears and other animals hibernate? Why bears hibernate Why bears don't hibernate

Some animals such as bears, hedgehogs, frogs, badgers, moles, reptiles in winter time years need prolonged sleep. Such a dream is called hibernation, and it may last for several months. ... So why do the bear and other animals hibernate in winter?

Sleep is protection from a cold, long winter . Having fallen into hibernation, the animal's body is completely rebuilt. Breathing and heart rate slow down, and body temperature drops.

Hibernating animals do not make any reserves for the winter, unlike squirrels or hamsters. A bear is a large animal, but it feeds mainly on berries, mushrooms, and fish. That is, everything that disappears with the onset of winter.

During the summer, bears feed intensively, accumulating subcutaneous fat. The thickness of subcutaneous fat is on average 15 centimeters, this layer is enough to prevent the bear from starving during hibernation and frost. Brown bears, unlike their counterparts, equip their homes for the winter.... They use different branches and twigs for their den.

But bears need sleep in winter not only as a means of fighting hunger. A pregnant female also hibernates. polar bear... But she does not do, she does not equip her den, but sleeps in a snow hole.

This is how the bear hibernates in winter.

When winter ends, and spring is already in full swing in the warmer air, the bears wake up. The heart begins to beat more and more often, returning to a normal rhythm, breathing also quickens, and the body temperature rises. The bears leave the den and return to their usual life.

Introduction.

In the lesson of the world around us, we talked about how animals prepare for winter with the onset of autumn. I learned that the squirrel makes supplies, the mole digs additional passages underground, ants close the passages to the anthill, the wild boar accumulates fat so as not to be afraid of cold and hunger, many birds fly south, and bears are looking for a den to hibernate.

And then I was interested in the question: "why does the bear hibernate?" Here's what I learned with the help of a teacher, parents and an encyclopedia

The appearance of a bear.

Bears are the largest of modern predatory animals. There are 8 types of bears: brown bear, sloth bears, polar bear, white-breasted bear, baribal, malay bear, spectacled bear.

The body length of modern bears is 110-300 cm, the height at the withers is up to 135 cm, and the weight is up to 700 kg. The body is powerful, the neck is thick, usually long, the head is large, the eyes are small, the ears are round. The canines are powerful, while the other teeth are wide and flat due to the mixed diet. Paws are strong, five-toed. All fingers touch the ground, armed with long, curved, claws. The tail is short, almost invisible. The coat is colored black, brown or white color... Some species have light spots on the chest and around the eyes. The giant panda has a combination of white and black fields.

Bears have very few enemies, except for humans. Polar bears do not have them at all, a brown bear can have an Ussuri tiger (in rare cases), a white-breasted bear has a tiger and wolves.

What hibernation.

Hibernation, or winter sleep, is an important protective "adaptation" of the body of warm-blooded animals such as bears, raccoons, badgers, hamsters, marmots to endure unfavorable forage and climatic conditions. The main meaning of hibernation is to conserve energy during unfavorable natural conditions: lack of food and frost.

Bears are omnivorous animals, but they prefer to eat plant foods: berries, fruits, nuts, also insects, fish, and less often small animals.

The onset of winter colds entails a lack of food, food and water become difficult to access, and this can lead to the death of the animal. The bears have adapted to survive in cold weather, hibernating for several months.

The bear prepares for hibernation thoroughly, he needs to accumulate a lot of fat (up to 30 - 40% of his weight), which he will gradually eat throughout the winter. In order to gather the necessary amount of fat for the winter (about 50 kg), the bear needs a lot of food. During this period, he eats up to 700 kg of berries or about 500 kg of pine nuts, not counting other feed. In lean years, bears can visit crops of oats and corn, and some even attack livestock and apiaries.

The weight of a falling asleep bear reaches 180 kg, but during the winter sleep the animal loses up to 80 kg. And the female also needs to provide milk to the cubs, which will be born in the den and come to the surface only in spring. Depending on climatic and other conditions, the “owner of the forest” spends 4 to 6 months in the den, bears hibernate in October-November and wake up in March.

april. Bears with cubs stay in the den the longest, old males sleep worst of all.

A brown bear usually arranges a den in a secluded dry place, in most cases in holes covered with a windbreak, or under twisted tree roots. Less commonly, bears dig shelter in the ground or occupy caves and rock crevices. In addition, the bear can make a den for itself both in the hollow of a tree and on dry hummocks among the swamps. Before lodging in the den, the bear collects moss and grass for bedding, twists it all, and then, backing up, pulls it into the den.

As a rule, the bear sleeps in a separate den and is completely alone. There are cases when a stronger bear drives out its weaker owner from the den. Only the female sleeps with her little cubs. Before leaving for the last time in the den, the bear confuses the tracks. The bear sleeps curled up in a ball. His hind legs are tucked in, and his front legs cover his head. Usually the paws are at the level

nose, so it seems to many that the bear is sucking its paw. Hunters can wake up the bear. They usually do not fall asleep after that. Such bears are called "cranks".

During hibernation, all life processes almost stop. The body temperature drops, breathing slows down, the heart beats weakly. But even during this period, animals are able to control their condition - if the temperature or humidity changes in their "houses", they wake up and start looking for another place to sleep.

Does the polar bear sleep?

But not all bears hibernate. This does not happen with polar bears. Polar bears sleep more in winter than in summer, but this is not the well-known animal hibernation. Polar bears' temperature and respiration remain normal. They sleep in holes and caves of snow and ice. During warming, bears can roam all day and even at night.

Female polar bears sleep more in winter than males. Cubs are born during this winter sleep. In October, a she-bear in powerful sediments makes a den in the form of an extensive cave. No matter what the outside temperature is, in bear dens it is always close to zero. In December - January, one or two teddy bears are born, blind and deaf, no larger than a kitten. They remain in the den for about 2 more months. By this time, the cubs have their teeth cut through and their eyes and auditory openings open. In March or early April, the bear brings her offspring outside.

Poem, riddle.

Why does the bear sleep in winter?

Bear, bear! What happened to you?

Why do you sleep in winter?

Because snow and ice -

Not raspberries or honey.

Riddle

He's furry, he's big

He sleeps in a den in winter,

Chews berries in summer

He takes wild honey from bees,

May roar menacingly

Clubfoot beast ... ...(bear)

Conclusion.

So, bears hibernate in order to survive the harsh and hungry winter more easily.

And in conclusion, I want to know if you listened carefully to my story? Please answer the question "Who goes into hibernation?"

List of references.

1. "Great atlas of animals". -Moscow" Rosmen "2003.
2. Tsekhanskaya A.F., Strelkov D.G.The Complete Encyclopedia of Animals.- M .: JSC "Rosmen - press", 2009.
3. S. Starikovich "Wonderful Beasts".Stories. Moscow, "ROSMEN", 1994
4. Subscription series "In the world of the wild. "
5. Big book "Why". Translated from Italian by Olga Zhivago. Moscow, "ROSMEN", 2003

1. Introduction.
2. The appearance of a bear.
3. What is hibernation?
4. How does a brown bear prepare for hibernation?
5. Does the polar bear sleep?
6. Conclusion.
7. Poem, riddle.
8. List of references.

Nature keeps many mysteries, many still unsolved and inexplicable in it. And yet, with the passage of time, as a result of observations and experiments, mankind was able to give an answer to some of them.

For example, why does a bear sleep in winter and do all species of these animals hibernate? How, in conditions of absolute lack of food, does an animal manage to preserve the vital activity of the body at the same level and continue to actively hunt after prolonged starvation? Why do brown bears fall asleep in winter, but their white relatives do not? This article will give answers to these and other questions.

Why does the bear sleep in winter

As you know, brown bears are large enough animals. Therefore, in order to feed themselves, they need a decent amount of food. And although they are omnivorous, in the winter period of time the plant part of the diet disappears, and it is quite difficult to survive only by eating other living creatures - birds, small mammals, eggs, carrion, insects, fish. Yes, and it is impossible to find frogs, ants, slugs in winter, and hunting hares and wild boars is problematic, since they simply run away from a clubfoot, which, under its own weight, falls into the snow and is not able to move quickly.

Note: It is because of the inability to fully eat these predators hibernate. Hibernation is understood as the period of slowing down of vital processes during the time of inaccessibility of food, when the animal cannot maintain activity and the previous level of metabolism.

The characteristic signs of hibernation are called: a decrease in body temperature, a slowdown in the work of the respiratory system and heart, inhibition of nervous activity. So, during winter sleep, the body temperature of a brown bear drops from 37-38 to 31-34 degrees, and its metabolic processes slow down. However, this sleep is not very strong, because at the slightest danger, the animal wakes up and can leave the den (Figure 1).

Figure 1 As winter approaches, the bears become lethargic and begin to prepare for hibernation

Hibernation is preceded by the appearance of lethargy, slowness of movement, and a decrease in the animal's appetite. In this state, the animal does not defecate or urinate, because all waste products are processed into proteins necessary to support vital processes. The duration of winter sleep can range from 2.5 to 6 months, depending on weather conditions and the amount of nutrients accumulated by animals.

Hibernation ends in spring with the appearance of the first grass. At the same time, bears leave their shelters at different times: adult males come out first, then young individuals. Females with calves leave their dens last - in April-May. This is due to the fact that the female gives birth to offspring in January-February, therefore, with the arrival of spring, the cubs are still too small to release them into an environment full of dangers. Already at the beginning of autumn, animals begin to feed intensively, picking up berries and fruits, eating insects and oats. In this way, they accumulate subcutaneous fat, which is so necessary for them for hibernation, and in females - also for feeding babies.

Features of hibernation of bears in winter

The food consumed by animals is the source of energy through which they exist. Therefore, the more active the lifestyle, the more energy the body needs, the more food should be consumed. Therefore, with an insufficient amount of food, it becomes necessary to reduce the intensity of all metabolic processes, which can be achieved while at rest (Figure 2).

Note: It is for this reason that bears fall into winter sleep when plant food, which makes up 80% of their diet, disappears.

Nevertheless, even during hibernation, the animal can wake up in case of danger and show sufficient activity. This is due to the fact that energy expenditure during winter sleep is minimal, and the cells receive it exactly as much as necessary to maintain the body's vital functions. The reserves of fat and glycogen accumulated during the active period of the year are used up gradually, so they are enough until spring. Conversely, an animal that has insufficiently stored fat is much less likely to sleep until spring. A hungry animal leaves the den ahead of time and wanders in search of food, remaining aggressive and dangerous to humans. The connecting rod bear can attack dogs or livestock, look for food in landfills, or begging people when going out on highways.

Figure 2. During hibernation, all vital processes slow down

Besides fat and glycogen, oxygen is another source of energy. During winter sleep, the body is inactive, its tissues need a small amount of oxygen and nutrients, so the blood that carries them moves much slower, the heart rate decreases, the respiration rate decreases significantly, respectively, energy costs are reduced. And although after hibernation the animal can lose up to half of its body weight, it still finds the strength to get out of the den and begin active life even after a 3-month hunger strike.

Observing animals in a den, scientists managed to find out that predators do not suck their paws, as is commonly believed, but lick them to relieve the itching that occurs as a result of a change in the skin on the pads of the limbs. Thus, falling into hibernation is a genetically inherent defense mechanism that allows the bear's body to adapt to a lack of nutritional resources.

How a bear sleeps in a den in winter

In a warm and safe den, the bear can sleep all winter. Most often, the animal is located on its side, curled up in a ball, sometimes on its back, less often in a sitting position, with its head lowered between its paws. Males and juvenile sexually mature individuals sleep alone, and females that have young of the year cubs nest with them (Figure 3).

Note: Unlike other animals, which become numb during hibernation and show no signs of life, the body temperature drops slightly, by only 3-5 degrees, their heart beats rhythmically, although it slows down, and breathing becomes somewhat less frequent. Therefore, the animal easily wakes up from winter sleep in case of alarm, and often leaves the den itself during prolonged thaws, returning to it with a noticeable cold snap.

If the temperature in the den gets very low, the dormant animal wakes up, buries itself deeper and falls asleep again. During winter sleep, the animal's body does not remove waste products, but re-processes them into useful proteins and water.

Figure 3. Types and structure of the den

It took more than one thousand years of natural selection to form such a complex system of animal adaptations to severe climatic conditions... The hibernation of the brown bear usually lasts about four months (from the second half of November to the first half of April), depending on weather conditions, age and health of the animal.

Why polar bears don't sleep in winter

Brown and polar bears, descended from common ancestors only 150 thousand years ago, and often interbreed in wildlife, are strikingly different in habits and way of life. So, a brown bear in the cold season falls into a state of winter sleep, but its white counterpart almost does not sleep in winter. He sleeps more sensitively and for a short time, usually in the spring-winter period. The only exceptions are females who are pregnant or nursing newborn babies.

Figure 4. Polar bears are very different from their brown relatives

The peculiarities of this behavior are explained by the fact that the diet of a polar bear consists mainly of seal meat and fish, which are available almost all year round, even during the winter cold weather, when it has the opportunity to hunt for them. hard ice... Predators snatch seals from holes through which they breathe, or grab seals on the ice while resting. By the end of summer, when the ice is almost completely melting, it becomes more difficult for the bear to hunt, since the prey easily swims away from it or runs away on land. Then the animal has to be content with the carcasses of dead whales or walruses found on the shore, and sometimes even starve.

Note: During such periods of temporary starvation, animals seem to "sleep on the move." In other words, their body has all the signs of hibernation. So, the concentration of urea in their blood drops sharply, which causes lethargy, drowsiness and loss of appetite in a brown bear.

The polar bear does not hibernate, and in the presence of food it is able to raise the concentration of urea to a normal level:

1. Organism white bears uses urea for the synthesis of amino acids and plasma proteins, which ensure the maintenance of the required level of metabolism in the body.
2. The lower the urea content, the less often it needs to be removed, which means that the need to quench thirst also decreases, which is energetically justified in conditions of insufficient feed, because in order to obtain water from snow in the Arctic, a lot of energy is needed to warm it. Therefore, as soon as ice appears, the polar bear goes hunting, because the welfare of the animal next year depends on it.
3. Females nursing babies have to spend the winter in a den. This is due to the fact that the cubs of the white subspecies are born very small, blind and helpless. Their body is covered not with wool, but with a short down, which is unable to protect the animal from the northern cold.
4. Polar bears set up dens on the shore, in snow drifts, and in case of insufficient snow, even in a hole dug in frozen ground.
5. Usually, females lie in a den when hunting becomes problematic due to melting ice.

Before babies are born, they mostly sleep. Cubs (usually two) are born, as a rule, in November-January and remain in the den until spring. The female staying with them is in a state of winter sleep, that is, she does not eat, drink, and defecate, while feeding her offspring with milk (Figure 4). All these processes are possible due to the fact that immediately after mating, which takes place in April-May, pregnant females begin to feed heavily in order to accumulate the necessary supply of nutrients. Often, female bears manage to increase their body weight by 200 kilograms, while the development of embryos is suspended at an early stage and resumes only in autumn, closer to the time the female lays in the den, which depends on several factors, for example, weather conditions or the rate of accumulation of nutrients by animals. It is also interesting that during the period of winter sleep, the bear manages not only to feed the babies, but also not to lose the mass of bones and muscles, because during hibernation only fat deposits are consumed. From all of the above, it turns out that it is polar bears that are most adapted to winter sleep.

In the video you can see what the bear's hibernation den looks like.

The bear is a formidable forest predator that belongs to the family of mammals, but has the most stocky physique. A special phenomenon is the winter bear hibernation, the reasons and features of which we will examine in detail today.

Which bears hibernate?

There is a nomadic spirit in bears, and many species move all year round, with the exception of the brown and Himalayan bears, just these species go to a cozy den for the winter and refuse to wander around the world, preferring a measured sleep to them. The female polar bear also sleeps, falling asleep when carrying offspring.

Causes of hibernation in bears

The reasons for hibernation in bears are as follows:

• Serious difficulties with food during the cold season. It is not difficult for bears to provide themselves with food of animal origin in winter, but such a diet will not be complete and sufficient for their survival. True, the sense of smell of this predator allows him to easily find berries and fruits in the snowdrifts, but all the same - these finds are too scarce for wintering. That is why there is no better way out than to plunge into a long and healthy sleep.
• The size of the bear plays a role in this important biological process. Average weight clubfoot - about half a ton. So imagine how much food you need to feed this whopper all winter. There is practically no vegetation, and catching a hare, a fox or a fish on an ice-bound river is not an easy task. And in winter, like any living organism, energy costs are much higher than in summer - a lot of energy is spent on maintaining the optimal body temperature in cold weather.

Hibernation and its features

In terms of duration, hibernation can last up to six months, so you need to stock up on energy for future use. During sleep, the body will extract it from subcutaneous fat, carefully deposited in bear bins in the summer.

In the sleepy period of the year, the body begins to function differently - in the scientific literature, such a restructuring is called a process suspended animation , in which the heart rate slows down and breathing becomes less frequent. Such a regime promotes a reasonable expenditure of oxygen in a bear den and saves the most valuable nutritious subcutaneous fat - these two important resources stretch for months.

Interestingly, during hibernation, a bear can lose weight almost 2 times.

The animal sleeps quite sensitively - we can confidently say that it is just dozing for a long time. Therefore, if a flock of hungry, howling predators sweeps past the den, it can easily wake up the bear. As you know, there is nothing worse than waking up an awake sleeping person, and even more so a bear - he is angry and hungry, so he can go to the nearest village for food to open a couple of warehouses there.

Often, female bears do not waste time in winter and give birth to cubs in a den, sometimes up to 5 pieces per litter. The weight of a newborn clubfoot is only a few hundred grams. Cubs are born as blind helpless foolish cubs and their food for the first months is mother's milk. With the bear, babies spend up to 1.5 years of their lives.

Probably everyone knows that to stumble upon a bear with a cub is a dangerous sight, which even the worst enemy is afraid to wish, because when meeting a bear it can be very bad - the maternal instinct of a bear will make you tear the threat to shreds.

Why suck a paw in hibernation: interesting versions

People say that the bear in hibernation sucks its own paw, they say, thanks to this, it is easier for him to survive the harsh Russian cold. True, few people can say for sure which paw they are actually talking about. Yes, and having opened a search engine, it is almost impossible to find a photo with this spectacle - the photos come across strange and differ from expectations, given that today even hunters and foresters have mobile phones with a camera. How, then, do you know the truth?

Version one

Everything is extremely simple:

1. Scientists say that the bear's paw is covered with a thick layer of skin, thanks to which they can easily overcome rocky ledges without discomfort.
2. During hibernation, new skin grows, preparing the paws for the new summer season.
3. To make the process faster, the bear places its paw closer to the muzzle and bites off unnecessary skin. This process is unpleasant, because the sole itches during molting.

Second version

A second interesting hypothesis is related to cubs that can suck their paws when they are not free. This is due to the fact that the baby in nature, as we have already said, feeds on the mother's milk for a long time, and the nipples of the bear are not on the stomach - but in the armpits and groin. If a little bear grows up in fatherlessness and without a mother, then he is fed with a pacifier, like a child. But instincts take their toll: the bear cub is sorely lacking in contact with his mother, so he begins to suck his paw, considering it a mother's nipple. By the way, such a phenomenon is rare in nature.

Bear after hibernation: what is he like?

In the video below, you can see unique shots captured by random eyewitnesses, in which the bear just got out of the den after a long hibernation - its fur does not shine, but hangs in shreds, and nothing is left of its impressive size, the bear is still sleepy and a little confused ... As soon as the bear eats up the first berries, digs up someone's food reserves in last year's grass and catches fish rushing along the turbulent rivers to spawn, it will very soon regain its impressive size.

Nature is genius and prudent, as evidenced by the hibernation of bears. Thanks to this phenomenon, they successfully survive the winter, consuming fat, which they have accumulated special for this period.

Those who have wings feel good - they flew away and that's it. well and brown bear through thickets and wild forest you cannot reach places where the climate is warmer.

And he finds a pretty practical solution. In the summer, the bear eats off, in order to then plunge into hibernation until spring. But not everything is as simple as it might seem at first glance. Imagine who you would be like if you hadn't been drinking and eating for six months. Let's take a look at some of the amazing processes that take place in the body of a bear during hibernation.

Busy summer

To prepare for a six-month “fast”, the bear needs to make energy reserves. " So she is not worried about her figure. Its main purpose is to accumulate more subcutaneous fat (in some places its thickness reaches eight centimeters). Although she likes sweet berries the most, she is not picky about food. She eats everything: roots, small mammals, fish and ants. By the fall, she can gain weight up to 130-160 kilograms, a third of which is fat. (A male can weigh up to 300 kilograms.) Before plunging into the world of dreams, she stops eating and empties her intestines. For the next six months, she does not eat anything, does not urinate or defecate.

Bears choose a den in a cave, an abandoned anthill, or a hole under tree roots. The main thing is that it should be quiet there and no one disturbed the sweet dream. Bears gather spruce branches, moss, peat and other materials to make a warm and cozy bed. The den is not much larger than the massive body of a bear. When winter comes, snow will cover the den and only an attentive observer will be able to see the hole through which air enters there.

Hibernation

Some small mammals, for example hedgehogs, the bats and sleepyheads fall into the real hibernation, that is, spend most winters in a state similar to death. Their body temperature is approaching temperature environment... But the bear's body temperature only drops by 5 degrees Celsius, so his sleep is not that deep. “This is not to say that the bear 'sleeps without hind legs.' The bear lifts its head and flips from side to side almost every day,” says Raimo Hissa, a professor at the University of Oulu in Finland, who has spent many years studying bear hibernation. from her den in the middle of winter.During hibernation, the animal's body works “in economy mode.” The heart rate drops to 10 per minute, and the metabolic process slows down. When the bear sleeps sweetly, her body begins to burn fat. and supply the animal's body with the necessary calories and water. Despite the fact that the processes that support life in the body are slowed down, as a result of metabolism, a certain amount of waste is generated. How can a bear get rid of them and still keep her den clean? Instead of removing waste? , the body processes them!

Prof Hissa explains: "Urea from the kidneys and bladder is reabsorbed into the bloodstream and transported by the circulatory system to the intestines, where it is hydrolyzed by bacteria to ammonia." Even more surprising is that this ammonia is returned to the liver, where it participates in the formation of new amino acids that form the basis of proteins. By converting waste products into building materials, the bear's body feeds itself for a long hibernation period!

In the old days, people hunted bears sleeping in dens. Sleepy Toptygin became easy prey. First, hunters on skis found a den, then surrounded it. After that, the bear was awakened and killed. Today, winter bear hunting is considered a cruel occupation and is banned in almost all of Europe.

Studying the hibernation of bears

The Department of Zoology at the University of Oulu has been researching the physiological processes by which animals adapt to the cold for several years. The study of brown bears began in 1988, and a total of 20 individuals were observed over the years. A special den was created for them in zoological garden university. To measure body temperature, study metabolism, vital activity, as well as changes that occur during hibernation in blood and hormones, scientists used computers, video cameras, made laboratory tests... Biologists collaborated with specialists from other universities, even Japanese ones. They hope that the research results will be useful for solving problems associated with human psychology.

New life

The bear sleeps all winter, turning from side to side, but an important event takes place in the life of the bear. Bears mate in early summer, but fertilized cells inside the mother-to-be do not develop until the bear hibernates. Then the embryos attach to the wall of the uterus and begin to grow. After just two months (in December or January), the body temperature of future mother rises slightly and she gives birth to two or three cubs. After that, her body temperature drops again, although it does not become as low as before childbirth. Daddy-bear does not see how his children are born. But the sight of the newborns would probably disappoint him. It would be difficult for a huge dad to recognize in these tiny creatures weighing less than 350 grams of their offspring.

The she-bear feeds the cubs with nutritious milk, this drains her already weakened vitality. The cubs grow quickly, by the spring they become fluffy and already weigh about five kilograms. And this means that revival reigns in the little "apartment" of the bear.

Spring

March. Cold winter has passed, the snow is melting, the birds are returning from the south. At the end of the month, male bears emerge from their dens. But the bears remain in their hiding place for several more weeks, possibly because the babies take a lot of their strength.

After a long hibernation, skin and bones remain from a well-fed bear. The snow melted, and with it her fat melted. For all that, the bear is surprisingly mobile - no bedsores, seizures or osteoporosis. Some time after leaving the den, she cleans the intestines. Usually, bears start eating only two or three weeks after waking up, since the body does not immediately get used to the new conditions. But then they have a remarkable appetite. But since nature itself has recently awakened from a winter sleep, at first there is not much food in the forest. The bears chew on larvae and beetles, eat old corpses, and sometimes even hunt reindeer.

Caring for the upbringing of the cubs falls on the shoulders of the bear, and she protects her cubs like the apple of her eye. An ancient parable says: “It is better for a man to meet a bear devoid of children than a fool with his foolishness” (Proverbs 17:12). In other words, it is better not to meet with either one or the other. “The mother bear has many worries. If a male bear approaches, she immediately forces the cubs to climb the tree. The point is that the male can harm them, even if he is their father, ”explains Hissa.

The cubs spend another winter in a den with their mother. Well, next year they have to look for their own den, as the bear will have new tiny babies.

We already know a lot about the complex and unusual phenomenon of bear hibernation, but a lot is still a mystery. For example, why does a bear get sleepy in the fall and why does it lose its appetite? Why doesn't he have osteoporosis? Revealing bearish secrets is not easy and understandable. Everyone has their own secrets!