footage-shows-yellowstone-grizzly-bear-attempting-nap-snow

Footage Shows Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Attempting to Nap in Snow

A Grizzly bear look so cute, especially when he’s trying to nap in the snow. After all, this is prime hibernation time.

Awwww.

The U.S. Department of Interior social media team showed off the grizzly bear with a Facebook video from Yellowstone.

They captioned it “Are you having trouble losing those unwanted, extra holiday pounds? Then ask your doctor if hibernation is right for you.”

In our opinion, there always should be time for a good, satisfying nap. And sleeping to lose weight? Sign us up.

The Facebook post continued by explaining what’s up with this grizzly bear and his kin folk this time of year.

“Winter is the time of year in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, when bears hibernate, although, it’s possible to see one any time of year. During hibernation, a bear doesn’t eat, urinate or defecate and can lose up to a third of its body weight in a few months without losing much muscle or bone density. “

According to the Yellowstone National Park website, the grizzly bear will find a den and start hibernating in late November. The timing depends on the snowfall, temperatures and food supply. The bears will sleep for up to five months.

Black bears and grizzlies are both hibernating in the park right now.

Grizzly bear males could come out of hibernation starting in mid-March. Mama grizzlies with baby cubs come out later in the spring, in April or early May. If the winter is warmer than normal, bears come out sooner.

Black bears are hibernating at the lower elevations. And they wake up earlier than the grizzly bear. You could see some possibly as early as late February.

When the bears wake up, they’re not necessarily so hungry that they want to eat right then. They’ll first look for the carcass of an elk or bison that have died in the winter.

The Yellowstone website quoted Kerry Gunther, who leads the park’s bear management program. Gunther said “when they first come out they don’t eat that much, and they are lethargic. For a week or two they spend more time sleeping on the carcass than eating it. Their metabolisms are not totally kicked in–they are in a kind of walking hibernation.”

But as they always warn, bears, despite being so cute, are dangerous animals. Check out this story of their raw power. The park wants visitors to stay a minimum of 100 yards away from the bears. There’s an average of one bear attack in the park per year.

As one commenter on the Facebook post said:  “It’s videos like this that make me forget that fluffy guy could tear off my face.”