Hibernation Time

[Turtle]

Got a touch of snow in the high country last night and opening day is still a week and a half away.  
Will the snow get the black bears to start thinking about hibernating or what triggers that?
-Turtle-

[IntrepidWizard]

Snow,cold and the volume of food consumed,my area bears are active---too active for my taste.

[Jim D]

Just spent 9 days in the High Serrias with the temps down to freezing almost every night and the bears here in Calif. are so thick it is unreal. Had one come within 15 yards of me while deer hunting sitting on a rock pile at 4 in the afternoon.

[loaded4bear]

Turtle,
 
THE number one factor that dictates when bears will enter hibernation is the availability of food in sufficient quantities to make the effort in seeking it out worthwhile. Think of it along the lines of a cost/benefit analysis: when bears have to expend more energy seeking out food than the calories they take in by consuming it, their bodies tell them it's time to hibernate.  
 
Climate & temperature really have little direct effect on a bear's hibernation instinct. To illustrate this point, take the black bear population in central Florida for example. Bears there hibernate just like their counterparts in the northern U.S. & Canada, even though it never truly gets "cold" in central Florida. Hibernation here is triggered for the same reason as anywhere else, decreasing availability of mast crops as the fall turns into winter.  
 
The reverse is also true. Back in 2003, New Jersey had their 1st black bear season in over 30 years which took place in early December.  Blizzard like conditions gripped the state just 2 days prior to the season opener, with heavy snowfall (16-20 inches) & unusually cold weather (single digit low temps). This temporarily halted bear activity, but abundant bear sign was observed just days later & harvest totals were right in line with preseason projections despite the weather. This was due largely in part to the abundance of hard mast crops available prior to the severe weather, which caused the bears to continue feeding rather than hibernate despite the unseasonable weather. In fact, bears in N.J. (and elsewhere) will routinely come out of hibernation periodically throughout the winter months to feed, if food remains available in sufficient quantities.

[Daveinthebush]

Just to throw a kink into the food theory.  The bears around Valdez and Prince William Sound headed up into the mountains about 2-3 weeks ago.  It had not snowed yet at ground level or any frost.  There are still some salmon in the stream behind the house and where we goat hunted last weekend the berries were plentiful.  We ate them in leu of purifying water.  Lots of bear scat out where we were.  All of the bears we have spotted are between 2500-3500 feet up the mountain right now.  So they are purposefully heading into a colder climate when it is warmer and there is food down low.  

Doesn't make sense to me.  And, I have read that they don't truly hibernate and will get up and walk around in the winter.  We had one brown and one black bear last winter out roaming in February.  Go figure.

[ihunt49]

I agree with loaded4bear. Food supply is the main factor in deciding when a bear will hibernate. I've found fresh bear sign in Jan. and Feb. in PA with cold temps and fresh snow on the ground. Followed them to a corn crib on a farm where the bears had been feeding every few days.

[loaded4bear]

Dave,  
 
Just to clarify any misconceptions abouts bears & hibernation, here are the facts:  
 
Bears, unlike some other mammals ( woodchucks, marmots,  & bats...just to name a few), are not "true" hibernators. Bears enter what can be more accurately described as periods of "deep sleep" vs. true hibernation. While bears do not urinate or defecate during these periods, and are also capable of living off of stored fat reserves, this is where the similarities with true hibernation end.  
 
Bears maintain near normal body temperature, heartbeat & respirations while they sleep as opposed to the true hibernators. Bears also forego the altered state of consciousness that hibernating animals experience, and can easily be awakened from their winter sleep. This is why researchers doing winter den surveys of sows with cubs are required to tranquilize the adult bears prior to examination. This is also why, as noted earlier in this thread, bears can periodically be observed out of the den during the winter months if conditions are favorable, but you will NEVER see a true hibernator on the prowl once they have gone to ground for the winter.

[Lawdog]

Just spent 9 days in the High Serrias with the temps down to freezing almost every night and the bears here in Calif. are so thick it is unreal. Had one come within 15 yards of me while deer hunting sitting on a rock pile at 4 in the afternoon.

Jim D,

Almost hard to believe, isn't it?   :eek:   More this year than at any other time that I can remember.  Cub survival must have been exceptional the last two years.  Lawdog
 

[Jim D]

Lawdog,  In all the years that I have been going into the Sierras to hunt or fish I have never seen the amount of bear sign that I have this year. I usually hunt alone and have never been leary of dropping into canyons without someone with me but this year every place I find choke berries the scat is everywhere. Have ran into (3) males so far this year. I am not carrying a bear tag this year but will probably get one. ----------Jim D.

[Lawdog]

Lawdog,  In all the years that I have been going into the Sierras to hunt or fish I have never seen the amount of bear sign that I have this year. I usually hunt alone and have never been leary of dropping into canyons without someone with me but this year every place I find choke berries the scat is everywhere. Have ran into (3) males so far this year. I am not carrying a bear tag this year but will probably get one. ----------Jim D.

Wise move.  Lawdog