Damn, this bear is joyous. I bet I would be pretty happy too if I slept months on end…
Bears usually eat an excessive amount before they are to enter into hibernation. They also make sure that they dig out their dens at higher elevations and create a space just large enough for themselves to fit into in order to retain heat.
This grizzly bear had apparently just come out of hibernation in Yellowstone National Park, and the wild animal couldn’t possibly be happier about it. According to NC Wildlife, bears have the ability to remain stationary for extended periods of time without needing to search for food. There are some bears who do not move out of their dens for as long as 8 months (but usually around 5), and during that period, they lose around 30% of their body fat.
So with that in mind, put yourself in the shoes (or paws) of this bear. You just had an unbelievable, extended nap, you might’ve just eaten your first snack of the season, and snow has graced your Yellowstone home. Life, for this bear, is good. The person filming the feel-good scene can be heard saying:
“He’s running in the snow right now. And then laying down and sliding like an otter.”
The bear is simply living its best life. You would be too if you woke up to a snow day. The video is great because its evident that the bear is happy, but there are also moments where it emitting full-fledged “just woke up” vibes. I would be willing to step out on a limb and say that the grizzly might be a little slap-happy. When you wake up and you haven’t had coffee, you’ll either be sleepily happy or groggily grumpy. It appears this bear woke up on the right side of the den.
The bear spends most of the video just gliding through and rolling around in the snow, but that isn’t even the best part. About three minutes in, the bear finds its way to hill and literally starts doing front rolls down it. The fortunate witness working the video camera can be heard saying:
“He just did a flip-flop.
Yeah, he just did a somersault.
He’s like he’s in 5th grade gymnastics.”
5th grade gymnastics is somehow a phenomenal comparison to what this bear is doing. Of course, no offense to those advanced tumblers in 5th grade that are flipping at an 8th grade level. The footage is some of the most fun you’ll have today. It almost makes you forget how terrifying and vicious these huge wild animals can be.
I hope that I can somehow, someday find this same level of happiness. This bear is setting the bar incredibly high for hibernation-exiting videos.
Take a look at the happy grizzly waking up and happily wondering around Yellowstone:
Watch The Moment A Grizzly Comes Out Of Hibernation
The beast is awake.
Grizzly bears are one of the most known animals in the world and one of the fiercest to roam North America. Just massive animals, adult males can weigh up to 600 pounds and standing over 7 feet tall. Grizzly bears have a distinctive hump on their back, which is made up of muscle mass and helps to support their massive frame.
In the fall, grizzly bears will begin to eat large amounts of food, such as berries and salmon, to build up their fat reserves for the winter. As the days get shorter and colder, grizzly bears will find a suitable den and begin their hibernation. During hibernation, grizzly bears will slow their metabolism and heart rate and their body temperature will drop. They will not eat, drink, or defecate during this time, which can last for several months.
Although a lot is known about the grizzlies hibernation cycle it is rarely seen, especially the moment the come out of it. This park in British Columbia captured just that. Their grizzly, Boo, is seen digging his way out of the deep snow breaking into the sunlight for the first time in months.
The grizzly pokes his head out and eventually gets his massive body out. The big boy definitely seems like he is still half asleep. But, after cutting a snooze like that, how could you not be?
“Boo has finally joined us for the new year! We were extremely fortunate to capture Boo’s 20th emergence from his den.
We ask that all guests please stay quiet when going over the enclosure in the gondola and when skiing by the Bear Refuge on Lower Wiley Coyote. Boo is currently transitioning from his dormant state to a phase we affectionately call “walking hibernation” – where his body is reversing the dormancy process.
We are doing our best to keep things calm and quiet to give Boo what he needs to comfortably transition into his normal state.”
Nature is amazing.
And when they wake up, they’re hungry…
Hungry Brown Bear Kills 38 Reindeer And 18 Moose After Waking Up From Hibernation
Woke up feeling dangerous…
According to Live Science, a “highly predatory” brown bear woke up from hibernation, and his first mission? Kill 38 reindeer.
The 13-year-old female brown bear killed 38 reindeer calves in only a month, then 18 young moose the next month in northern Sweden. The bear was one of 15 bears examined by researchers in an effort to better understand how they use their landscape.
They discovered that the bears change habitats to target reindeer and moose calves in the springtime, with some bears, like the 13-year-old female, killing more than others. Study co-author Uzal Fernandez, a senior lecturer in wildlife conservation at Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom, weighed in on why some bears are more predatory than others:
“It must be a combination of different factors… such as innate behavior related to personality (for instance, some people are more aggressive than others).”
Bears aren’t nearly as effective hunting larger adult prey, so they prey on the weaker, younger, and more vulnerable animals. They focus on hunting calves until July, and then rely on berries for food until hibernation season.
Fernandez continued:
“Our study shows differences between individual bears’ predatory behavior and how this helps to explain individual variation in their habitat selection.
Differences among individuals are also important from a management perspective; for instance, mere predator removal, without targeting specific individuals, may not necessarily reduce conflict.”
Although there have been a number of brown bears that are way more predatory than others, the study says that they are not anymore of a threat to humans.
Damn… mama bear on a rampage.
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