Bears Enter 23rd Hibernation at Grouse Mountain
Posted by Devin Manky November 23, 2023
sleepy bears
Today marks the first official day of the 2023/2024 hibernation/winter dormancy period for our two Grizzly Bears - Grinder and Coola.
Both bears had been slowing down a lot over the past two weeks and their last full meal was a little over a week ago. With the food disappearing and their bellies full from a two month hyperphagia period (a phase where they eat constantly), the bears are now ready to settle down for a long winter's nap.
We look forward to welcoming them back out next spring!
final weigh in
Last weekend we also convinced the bears to stand on their scale for the last time of the year so we could get a final pre-hibernation weight.
With a summer average weight of 700 pounds for Grinder and 800 pounds for Coola, they needed to increase this by about 20% before going into the den for the year.
Aaaannnd... drumroll please... their final weight after their weight gain period from September to November was 1012 pounds for Coola and 940 pounds for Grinder! These are about average for their weights going into hibernation (a little more than last year for Grinder and slightly less for Coola than last year).
It is always fun to weigh them first thing in the spring when they emerge and compare!
follow along on our webcam
You can see the "action" from inside the Grizzly Bear's sleeping den on our infrared webcam found at: https://www.grousemountain.com/web-cams/bear-den-cam
You can see the bears doing their last bed making preparations (have to make sure it's juuuust right!) and some final adjustments before really settling in to sleep.
Be sure to check out the time lapse function by selecting it from the drop down menu in the upper right corner of the webcam display. It is a great way to see an entire day condensed into a short period of time.
