How do bears survive winter?

Bear is a general term for animals of the family Bear family of carnivores, mostly living in the forest, generally living alone, sleeping and resting during the day, and foraging at night. So, how do bears spend the winter?

How do bears spend the winter?

There are many kinds of bears, including 5 genera and 8 species. Different bears have different ways to spend the winter. Some bears hibernate in winter, such as brown bears. Some bears hibernate in the cold north and not in the warm south, such as American black bears and Asian black bears. Some bears have the habit of partial hibernation, such as polar bears. Some bears do not hibernate in winter, such as giant pandas, glasses bears, lazy bears and Malay bears.

2. Hibernating bears

1. Brown bears: have the habit of hibernating. From late October or early November to March-April of the following year, the body temperature, heartbeat and detoxification system will stop working during hibernation. In order to hibernate, 400-600 kg of berries and other foods must be eaten in autumn. When winter approaches, begin to prepare caves and choose to live in big tree caves or rock crevices, with withered grass, leaves or moss as bedding in the cave. Before entering the cave, you will mess up your footprints so as not to be found by natural enemies. If there is danger during hibernation, you will wake up at any time.

2. American black bears: bears in the north have the habit of hibernating for as long as 7 months, while in the south, the hibernation time is short, and some of them do not even hibernate. In order to hibernate, black bears choose carrion and plant foods in spring, catch small game to supplement winter fat, eat lots of berries in summer, and catch rodents and other small prey for nutrition. In autumn, enjoy a variety of delicious ripe berries, fruits and nuts; in late autumn and early winter, step up eating to prepare for hibernation. Nests are built in tree holes, logs or rocks, riverbanks, caves, hidden ditches and shallow depressions before hibernation, storing body fat and lowering body temperature and heart rate to save energy.

3. Asian black bear: the black bear in the north has the habit of hibernating and goes out to the hole from March to April of the following year. You eat a lot in autumn, and the food is mainly fat-rich nuts. Before hibernation, nests are built in tree caves, caves and ground caves, logs or stones, riverbanks, hidden ditches and shallow depressions. Hibernating in the hibernating hole, not eating, in a semi-sleeping state, and automatically lowering body temperature, heart rate, in order to save the body's metabolism.

Partial hibernating bears

1. Polar bears: polar bears have the habit of partial hibernation. Polar bears go out much less in the severe winter, almost without eating for a long time. At this time, they look for shelter from the wind and sleep, their respiratory rate decreases, and they enter local hibernation. They just don't eat or drink for a long time, not all winter. Polar bears seem to sleep when they hibernate, and they can wake up immediately in case of an emergency to cope with changes.

Bears that do not hibernate

1. Giant panda: it is endemic to China. The main existing habitats are the mountains of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu in China. With a character that is not afraid of cold and humidity and never hibernates, even if the temperature is-4-14 ℃, they still walk through the bamboo bushes which are heavily pressed by snow. When the mountains and rivers are frozen by ice, some giant pandas may travel long distances down the ditch to drink water in the valley and then return home because of nostalgia for the hidden conditions and food bases of their homes. Giant pandas take bamboo leaves as their staple food and bamboo stalks as their staple food in winter.

2. Glasses bear: only distributed in South America, it is a pure tropical animal. There is no need to hibernate, because the living environment is rich in food sources and will not be cut off all the year round.

3. Lazy bears: mainly distributed in India and Sri Lanka, but also in Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. Living in the tropics, they do not hibernate, but when the rainy season comes, there will be less activity.

4. Malay bear: mainly distributed in Southeast Asia and South Asia, and a small amount in Lvchun, Yunnan, China and Xizang Mangkang. This is the only bear that does not hibernate. Although they are afraid of the cold, they do not hibernate, perhaps because they live in hot areas and have plenty of food all the year round.