The Bear Aware Program will be going into hibernation for the winter. Hibernation is an important survival strategy for bears where their main foods- green vegetation, berries, insects and salmon – are not available in winter. However, most bears do not go into hibernation in warm climates where enough food is available year-round. During a period called hyperphagia, bears prepare for hibernation by eating three times as much in the fall as they do in the summer. In the fall, bears need up to 30,000 calories per day to gain enough weight to get through the winter.
In some areas, food-conditioned bears that are used to accessing human food, such as garbage, may not hibernate at all. Most black bears and grizzly bears hibernate for four to six months in the winter, from November or December until March or April. Bear cubs are born in the den during hibernation. However, bears do not go into true hibernation because their body temperature and metabolic rate do not decrease as much as in other hibernating species and they may wake up relatively easily during their winter sleep.
Thank you to our volunteers, funders and everyone who has contributed to reducing human/wildlife conflict in our communities. Ongoing support from the City of Fernie, District of Elkford, RDEK, Columbia Basin Trust, British Columbia Conservation Foundation, Ministry of Environment and Fernie Alpine Resort has enabled us to continue delivering the Bear Aware Program to Elk Valley communities and the South Country. See you in the spring.
