Bear Essentials for the Winter
Written and illustrated by Jeannie Nicklas
While we are finally reveling in the snow during the heart of winter, it is hard to believe that our resident black bears are tucked away in makeshift dens and are currently nursing their newborns. These winter homes are often made up of cavities, about 5’ wide and 3’ high, under brush piles, uprooted trees, hollow trunks or in rock crevices. Bear caves are actually not their typical hide-out. Whichever scenario they decide on, they will spend time in the fall “decorating” the den with surrounding debris for bedding material. The trigger for creating a den in the winter is not necessarily the weather, but the decrease in food sources. Snowfall does play a role in their retreat to a winter abode and also signals the time to put out your bird feeders. 
Black bears spend at least five months without eating, drinking, or going to the bathroom! Even before they take a snooze for the winter, bears lose their appetite due to the increase of the hormone, Leptin. This hormone may also aid in the fact that they do not experience bone loss during hibernation. They live off the body fat that they have acquired from food frenzies in early fall when they are devouring large amounts of beechnuts, abundantly found in the American beech forests of Stark Mountain.
As their metabolism rate decreases, heart rate also decreases, as low as 8 beats/minute from their normal heart rate of 50 – 90 beats/minute. Although they are in a form of hibernation, they can go in and out of sleep (especially while nursing). It just takes them a while to get moving. Once they do emerge from this snug environment, they slowly gain their appetite back. April 1st is the official date to bring the bird feeders back inside in preparation for hungry black bears that are ready to start the feeding frenzy again.
What human conditions might benefit from studying these physiological phenomenons?
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