Certain mammals have what many people might consider the good fortune to be able to sleep through the winter—to hibernate. They bed down in the fall and, for all intents and purposes, don't arise again until the spring. Raccoons and skunks do it. So do woodchucks and chipmunks, hamsters and hedgehogs, bats and bears. Some, particularly rodents, sleep very deeply, while others, such as bears, slumber more lightly.
One of the most celebrated hibernators is the American black bear (Ursus americanus). It can go for as long as 100 days without eating, drinking, urinating, defecating, or exercising.
Preparations for over-wintering begin in the summer, when bears begin gorging carbohydrate-rich berries and other foods to put on weight. During this period, they can gain as much as 30 pounds per week. In early autumn, a bear (and its cubs, if any) will rake leaves, twigs, and other plant materials into the den to form a nest. Throughout the fall its activity level steadily drops until it ends completely when the bear enters its den.
Bears make dens in burrows, caves, hollowed-out trees, and rock crevices. Dens of the bears Rogers studies in Minnesota typically feature entrances just large enough for a bear to squeeze through; interior chambers measure two-and-a-half to five feet wide and two to three feet high.
It's cramped for a single bear, much less for a mother and her cubs. But that's the way bears like it: Black bears do no exercising of any sort during the winter months, preferring to lie rolled into a tight ball, with their heads between their forepaws and their heavily furred backs exposed to the worst of the cold. Dens themselves offer little insulation. In Minnesota, dens with open entrances are about as warm inside as outside, where the temperature, Rogers says, often plummets to as low as -28°F. Bears keep warm using their great bulk, their inches-deep layer of fat, and their fur, which more than doubles its insulative value during the fall.
Why is it important that the American black bear over eat carbohydrate rich foods before hibernating in the winter?
How do bears utilize their fat stores during the winter?
Can you find an example of homeostasis in this article? Explain.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/satoyama/hibernation.html
I WAS ASKING YOU THIS DURING LIVING ENVIRONMENT TODAY YAY!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAva L. 7G
I still wonder how these bear could go 100 days without urinating. It seems like their bodies just shut down
ReplyDeleteJackie Z. 7F
This article was very helpful as well as intriguing! The American Black Bear should stock up on carbs so they can make the long winter. The bear has thick layer of fat that keeps the bear warm when temperatures reach -28 degrees fahrenheit. The fur as well, maintains the bears' temperature. When the temp. is very cold, the bear goes into a ball with head in their front paws, with their back facing the cold.
ReplyDeleteThe article also mention that hamsters hibernate. Does that mean only wild ones do? I also think that it's very exciting how bears can go without eating for such a long period of time while humans can't.
Lastly, over the Summer, I went to Wyoming and Montana. All of the trash cans had special lids that makes it difficult for bears to open them and get to the garbage. It really shows how intelligent bears are and the lids even for me, were difficult for me to open!
I think it is amazing that a great black bear can go 100 days without eating, drinking, urinating, defecating, or exercising. From this article, I can also tell that these bears are very smart- they know they have to stock up on carbohydrates in order to be able to sleep for that amount of time. This was a great article and I also learned a lot of new information!
ReplyDeletePaola W. 7E
this is so intersting, class 7E,rose.s
ReplyDeletewhat do the bears do if they cant find enough food, or if they dont eat enough before they go into hibernation, do they ever wake up to eat if they need to?
ReplyDeletei love black bears. i adopted one online through a service called the world wildlife fund.
ReplyDeletei think that the bear's fur and fat helps the bear stay warm and thats an example of homoestasis
ReplyDeleteNicole N. 7a
do bears have to go to the bathroom when they are done hibernating????
ReplyDeleteAlon Shaar
I think it's amazing that a black bear can go up to 100 days without technically functioning or doing anything at all!
ReplyDeleteBrian O. 7B
I know how it feels to not be able to get out of your warm den when it's cold out.... :)
ReplyDeleteits cool 2 learn about other mammals and how they deal with winter, because they arent like humans who have heaters and hot water.
ReplyDelete~Ashley L. 7A
this article was cool and helpful! it's cool how black bears can go 100 days without eating or drinking! i couldn't do that,and i wouldn't want to try doing that either...the bears fur helps them keep warm and so does all their blubber :) they must eat so much food and food with carbs especially because they gain 30 pounds a week,amazing...thanks for posting the article!
ReplyDeleteZoe.S 7G
i loved this article so much! i love bears they are my favorite animal i always loved them! it's so awesome how they can eat so much that they don't have to eat for 100 days, they are cool animals
ReplyDeleteMollie .S 7E
Just another reason bears aren't like humans. They want to grow fat (sensible and its covered by fur) and we keep thin to attempt to look good because fur doesn't cover our would be fat. Very smart for a bear but you'd think the would atleast attempt to insulate the den.
ReplyDeleteElias Griffin 7F
i wish i could sleep that long :(. but that is very interesting how much fat they put on in the spring and fall. i wonder how much they weigh right b4 hibernation.
ReplyDeletelouie s. 7f
This article was very interesting. It's so cool that a black bear can go on for 100 days without eating or drinking!!!!
ReplyDeleteMatthew N. 7B
I'm very surprised that a bear can store up all that energy and then store it for 100 days without excreting anything. I get the no eating thing, they have lots of stored energy. But no excreting! Wow. I'm also kind of curious about how they go for that long without drinking. At least in humans, the brain has a lot of water, but it needs that water. They probably don't use their brain while hibernating, so it proably doesn't need as much water as it would normally.
ReplyDelete-Jeremy E. 7B
i wish we could hibernate like he bears, in the winter i need to catch up on sleep.:D
ReplyDeleteLydia W. 7G
i always thought that the bears dens mostly kept them warm... so much for that theory. the bears are smart to keep their fur covered back faced towards the wind
ReplyDeleteLila c 7a
Geez, it still seems really cool how they can sleep so long. What if they need to use the bathroom?
ReplyDeleteYuxiao L. 7G
Wow! I can't believe that while preparing for hibernation, bears could gain 30 lbs a week! That's a lot... It's amazing that bears can gain so much in so little time!
ReplyDelete-Liliana P. 7A
it must be so nice to be able to sleep for so long in such cold weather, it seems so cool! I never knew that bats and other other animals hibernate, too!
ReplyDeleteZi Ying C. 7E
For starters, i am AMAZED that bears can eat that much and survive!! I like to eat, but bears really EAT! i would never survive a whole winter when i only got to stuff myself for only one day. I am still shocked...
ReplyDeleteMina M. 7E
I don't get how black bears can just get fat and not eat for about 100 days. I think its so awesome, I wish I could do that. Get fat and sleep for 100 days without dying.
ReplyDelete*Delcine*
wow!!! thats so cool that the american black bear can go 100 days without eating or drinking!!!i never knew that!!!
ReplyDeleterena m.o. 7e
The bears are lucky being able to pig out all summer and then sleep. Though, it's a smart way to not freeze to death during the harsh winters. the bears are able to eat enough so that during the winter, all that excess fat keeps them warm. if the bears can go 100 days without food, that means if they ever get lost for many days, they can survive until they find more food. the bears are lucky not because they can sleep all winter but because they can stay warm when needed the most.
ReplyDeleteLife must be very simple for these bears all they do is eat and sleep but they do have to face big difficulties
ReplyDeleteThe bears must be regulating alot and sleeping hard to maintain their homeostasis. The article was very good, too.
ReplyDelete-Elliot W. 7B
They was very cool do the bears go to the bathroom while they sleep?
ReplyDeleteThis article was so interesting! I didn't know that an American black bear could go 100 days without eating OR drinking!
ReplyDeleteKelly L. 7E