It's no secret that the Siberian winter is a difficult test for many animals, and bears are no exception.
In common parlance they say that a bear hibernates; biologists say that it goes into winter sleep. There is little detailed information about this interesting process. The main reason is the difficulty of data collection.
The brown bear is found everywhere in the reserve, both in all types of forests and in the mountain-tundra belt. On the territory of the reserve it makes seasonal movements from forests to the high mountain zone and back, often using trails and country roads for migrations.
What does a bear eat before hibernation?
Before going into a den, the owner of the taiga needs to accumulate nutrients. The bear is an omnivore, but most of its diet in Kuznetsk Alatau, as in many other places, consists of food of plant origin: berries, herbaceous plants, acorns, nuts.
Pine cones are one of the favorite delicacies of bears and one of the best fattening foods. Young animals can climb trees behind them and break off branches. But mostly they collect fallen cones from the ground. To get to the nuts, the bear collects the pine cones in a pile and crushes them with its paws, from where it then, lying on the ground, picks out the nuts along with the shell with its tongue. The shells are partially discarded during the meal and partially eaten.
Often the attention of bears is attracted by the stocks of nuts made by chipmunks. By digging up the animals' burrows, bears get to the nuts and eat them, often together with the owner. They do not miss the opportunity to feast on ant larvae, bird eggs or fish; they also hunt small rodents and ungulates. A brown bear rarely kills wild ungulates itself; it mainly devours them as carrion or takes the prey of other predators (wolves, lynxes, wolverines).
There are known facts of predators eating such species of wild ungulates as elk, deer, and roe deer. He covers the prey or found carrion with brushwood and stays nearby until he finishes the carcass completely. If the animal is not very hungry, it often waits several days until the meat becomes softer.
It is very important how productive the year was for fattening feed. Lean years can greatly delay the time for bears to go to dens, and animals can continue to feed even in twenty-degree frosts and almost half a meter of snow cover, digging out cones from under the snow, trying to gain the fat reserves necessary for wintering. In years favorable for food, adult bears accumulate a layer of subcutaneous fat up to 8-12 cm, and the weight of fat reserves reaches 40% of the total weight of the animal. It is this fat accumulated over the summer and autumn that the bear’s body feeds on in the winter, surviving the harsh winter period with the least deprivation.
Hungry years lead to the appearance of connecting rod bears
These are animals that have not had time to gain sufficient fat reserves, which is why they cannot hibernate. Connecting rods, as a rule, are doomed to death from hunger and frost or from a hunter. But not every bear encountered in the forest in winter will be a crank. During “after-hours,” bears appear in the forest, whose sleep in their den is disturbed. A normally well-fed bear, but torn from hibernation, is forced to look for a new, quieter place to sleep. Animal sleep is often interrupted by human disturbance.
Bear's den
Before heading to the den, the bear diligently confuses its tracks: it meanders, walks through windbreaks, and even walks backwards along its own tracks. For dens, they usually choose remote and reliable places. They are often located along the edges of impassable swamps, along the banks of forest lakes and rivers, in windfalls and in logging areas. The brown bear makes its winter home in depressions under uprooted roots or tree trunks, sometimes on a pile of brushwood or near an old woodpile. Less often, it chooses a cave for its home or digs deep earthen holes - soil dens. The main condition is that the home should be dry, quiet and isolated from the presence of unexpected guests. One of the signs of the proximity of a den is large bald spots in the moss, gnawed or broken trees. The animal insulates its shelter with branches and lines the bedding with layers of moss. Sometimes the layer of litter reaches half a meter. It happens that several generations of bears use the same den.
At the beginning of winter, female bears give birth to offspring
From one to four cubs are born, but more often two. Babies are born blind, without fur and teeth. They weigh only half a kilogram and barely reach 25 cm in length. It is interesting that the nipples of female bears are not located along the abdominal line, as in most animals, but in the warmest places: in the armpits and inguinal cavities. The cubs feed on 20 percent fat milk from their still sleeping mother and grow quickly. Within a few months of such feeding, the cubs are completely transformed, and they emerge from the den already shaggy and nimble. True, they are still very dependent.
How a bear sleeps in a den
In the den, in warmth and safety, bears sleep throughout the long and cold winter. Often the bear sleeps on its side, curled up in a ball, sometimes on its back, less often it sits with its head lowered between its paws. If an animal is disturbed while sleeping, it easily awakens. Often the bear itself leaves the den during prolonged thaws, returning to it at the slightest cold snap.
Animals hibernating (for example, hedgehogs, chipmunks, etc.) become numb, their body temperature drops sharply, and, although vital activity continues, its signs are almost invisible. In a bear, the body temperature decreases slightly, by only 3-5 degrees and fluctuates between 29 and 34 degrees. The heart beats rhythmically, although slower than usual, and breathing becomes somewhat less frequent. The animal does not urinate or defecate. In this case, any other animal would experience fatal poisoning within a week, but bears begin a unique process for recycling waste products into useful proteins. A dense plug forms in the rectum, which some people call a “plug.” The predator loses it as soon as it leaves the den. The cork consists of tightly compressed dry grass, the fur of the bear itself, ants, pieces of resin and pine needles.
Brown bears sleep alone, and only females who have young yearlings sleep together with their cubs. The duration of hibernation depends on weather conditions, the health and age of the animal. But usually this is the period from the second half of November to the first half of April.
Why does a bear suck its paw?
There is a funny opinion that a bear sucks its paw during hibernation. But in fact, in January, February it happens change of hard skin on the paw pads, while the old skin bursts, flakes, and itches severely, and in order to somehow reduce these unpleasant sensations animal licks its paws.
It took thousands of years of natural selection for such a complex system of adaptations to form, as a result of which bears acquired the ability to survive in areas with harsh climatic conditions. One can only marvel at the diversity and wisdom of nature.
Previously on the topic Bears:
According to biologists, in the winter, bears fall into hibernation; among the common people, they go into hibernation. There is not much detailed information about this interesting phenomenon. It is known that bears prepare thoroughly for this process from the end of August, when the days begin to decrease and there is still enough food.
The amount of food consumed is surprising; an animal can eat up to 20 thousand kcal per day. At the same time, the accumulated fat on a bear’s body can be up to 15 cm. This is not only ordinary white fat, but also brown fat, which contains fatty acids. They support the body for a long time without nutrients. But why does a bear suck its paw during hibernation?
Features of the body of a bear in hibernation
Before the hibernation period, some changes occur in the animal’s body:
- In the internal organs and adipose tissue of the animal there is a substance - tocopherol, which stops metabolic processes;
- Metabolism decreases, the processes of heat formation in the body slow down, which causes a decrease in body temperature, the activity of the central nervous system of organs is suspended due to increased serotonin in the brain, which has a vasoconstrictor effect;
- When a bear has chosen a place for hibernation, the amount of oxygen around it decreases, the content of carbon dioxide increases, and the temperature of the entire space in the den drops, which also predisposes the body to hibernation.
During hibernation, the activity of the bear's body decreases, body temperature by 3-7 degrees, metabolic rate by 55 - 75%. Due to the large supply of fats of different compositions, animals are able to hibernate for several months. Under these conditions, the processes of tissue repair and hair growth do not stop; all wounds and hair will be restored by the end of sleep.
In order to maintain life in hibernation, the bear's body expends a small amount of energy. Energy now comes not from the food eaten, as was the case in the summer, but through the slow burning of accumulated fat. Burning fat leaves behind carbon dioxide and liquid. A sleeping animal is unable to urinate, so the body practically does not lose water, which is necessary for many internal processes. Over the entire period of hibernation, the bear will lose up to 27% of its fat.
Paw sucking bear
Nowadays, there are practically no secrets left in relation to the animal world. Now zoologists have all sorts of devices to track different periods of animal life. Scientists explain this situation by the fact that bears take a “curl” pose during hibernation. Finding a bear in this position, hunters might think that it was actually sucking its paw.
The bear, due to its large body weight, has a rough layer of skin on the soles of its paws that does not even crack. This allows the animal to cross rocky terrain without pain. During the winter, when the bear is hibernating, a new layer continues to grow under the rough old layer of skin. This causes him some discomfort, perhaps even itching. Thus, the animal chews off the rough crust to allow young skin to grow. In the spring, you can sometimes see a bear with rags of skin on the soles of its paws.
Why do bear cubs suck their paws?
There is another phenomenon when small bear cubs, who do not live a natural life - in the forest, suck a paw. For some period, the cubs feed exclusively on mother's milk. The female bear's nipples are located in secluded and warm places. When a cub sucks its mother's milk, it often falls asleep during the process and may lose it. But in the zoo, such cubs are often fed with a pacifier. After feeding, the cubs fall asleep, and due to the fact that the mother bear is often not around, the cub begins to suck its paw, because it is warm and partly replaces the mother’s warmth. With age, bears abandon this habit, but some still do not abandon this habit into adulthood. Psychologists call this phenomenon behavioral psychology.
I only recently began to think about why a bear sucks its paw. My cat doesn’t do this, like other animals. The thirst for knowledge led me to the library, where a very unexpected truth was revealed. I am sure that you will be extremely surprised by this information.
Why does a bear suck its paw?
There is a misconception that hibernation is an ordinary dream. This is fundamentally wrong. The bear does not sleep soundly, but dozes. People are used to thinking that it is during this period that the animal sucks its paw to get the necessary nutrients from it, but this is not the case. During the winter season, the animal the top layer of skin dieson the soles of the paws. The itching is very annoying for the bear, so he starts licking them. This reduces scabies and gets rid of rough skin. So it becomes clear why the animal sucks its paw.
Newborn cubs can suck paws while in a dream. This is how they calm themselves down perfectly. If a bear cub is fed by a person, then the baby in this way compensates for the contact he lacks with the bear.
Features of bear hibernation
The bear begins preparing for winter in August. He needs have time to store as much fat as possible in your body, which will power it for a long time. During this period, the animal consumes up to 20 thousand calories per day. If he could find plant food in winter, he would not hibernate. Those bears that do not have time to accumulate the required amount of fat do not fall asleep, and begin to attack people and livestock.
And here polar bear doesn't sleep, because it feeds on fish, which it can catch even in the cold season.
Hibernation is a great way to survive cold and hungry times. At this moment, very interesting processes occur. So:
- Body temperature decreases by 3–7 degrees.
- The bear spends virtually no energy.
- The animal does not urinate at this time.
- Over the entire period, 27% of fat mass is lost.
- Metabolism and breathing slow down.
I hope I helped you find out the truth.
Hibernation in bears
We all love animals since childhood. The bear is no exception. This animal has always captivated us with its clumsiness and pretty appearance. The bear became the hero of Russian fairy tales and has always remained a symbol of Rus'. This animal has an impressive size and very thick fur. This animal is always associated with hibernation. It's hard to believe, but a bear actually spends a third of its life sleeping. When children ask about the reason for such behavior, it is sometimes difficult for us to answer the simple question “why does a bear sleep in winter?” The explanation for this phenomenon is very simple.
As you know, bears are omnivorous animals, in other words, they consume both animal and healthy plant foods in their diet. Hibernation always occurs during the cold season, when nature goes into economical mode and there is practically no plant food for the bear. Certainly? This animal could, with grief, eat only animals, but they are not so easy to catch.
Causes of hibernation in bears
The average weight of a bear is half a ton. These are very impressive dimensions. The bear's clumsiness limits its movement; it is sometimes incredibly difficult for it to catch a hare or other animal. You can try to find vegetation. But in winter there is practically no food left and therefore the bear has to choose hibernation. Why the bear sleeps in winter is explained in detail in popular science magazines. This is the so-called protective mode, which allows him to save his life and not die from the cold.
The main reason for bears is simple Then you may have a completely logical question: why does a bear sleep in winter, but other animals do not? Everything is quite simple. As they say, he can afford it. Over the summer and early autumn, it is able to accumulate a huge amount of subcutaneous fat, which will become its salvation from hunger in hibernation mode. Since it is very cold in winter, energy consumption increases several times. A bear cannot afford such luxury. His fat is not enough for an active lifestyle and therefore hibernation is the only correct solution in this situation.
Bears sleep in winter, a video that confirms this can be found in any program about nature. It is worth saying a few words about hibernation itself. By its nature, this is a unique process that allows the animal to survive in harsh winter conditions. Sometimes it seems so incredible that it’s even hard to believe. It’s worth starting with the fact that hibernation is a certain mode of existence that is familiar to a bear. Hibernation can last even six months. But how to survive during this time and not die of hunger. Everything is very simple.
Features of hibernation in bears
Bears sleep in winter in the video; you can see how the dozing animal just lies there. But in fact, this is a very complex biochemical process in which the functioning of all vital organs of the animal slows down to such a state that one might think that the animal is no longer breathing. This is the so-called energy saving mode. This is the bear's only chance to survive a hungry winter. His breathing is very slow.
Bear's den in the forest To ensure that all organs continue to function, fat is used as energy. During winter hibernation, an animal can spend half its body weight. It could be 200 kg. Quite large losses, which will be more than replenished over the summer. Bears often give birth to cubs during hibernation. They are born in a litter. Usually there are several of them. The most interesting thing is that their weight is so small compared to an adult that it is difficult to believe in their ability to survive.
The average weight of a bear cub is about 200 g. You know how bears sleep in winter, but you don’t yet know how cubs manage to survive in winter. The answer to this question is the natural feeding of mammalian offspring. Like a human, a bear cub feeds on its mother's milk. It is so fatty that it guarantees its survival in winter.
In popular science magazines you can see how a bear sleeps in winter; taking such photos is very risky, since, despite the animal’s hibernation, its sleep is very light.
Teddy bear in hibernation There are cases when packs of animals woke up a bear, and he could no longer fall into his natural state in winter - hibernation. This is very bad for a bear. He can't feed himself. There is very little food in the forest and so he begins to destroy the villages. Before hibernating, the animal carefully arranges its den. This is very important, since he will have to live in it for six months.
Very wonderful animal bear
A bear is a very large animal and that is why when you see it on a walk with its offspring. You should be extremely careful. The bear reacts very sharply to people, especially when her fragile offspring are nearby, so an attack can become a defensive reaction and then you will have no chance of survival. You should know that an attack on a person by a bear is in most cases the person’s fault.
Bears are very funny and lively The animal simply protects its offspring. This is an unconditioned reflex. The bear is the main character of numerous fairy tales, films and legends. It is customary to depict this animal sucking its paw. Not everyone can answer with complete confidence whether such behavior is really observed in the specified animal. In fact, this is true, but the explanation for this behavior lies in the fact that the upper layer of the animal’s paws is very rough.
Why does a bear suck its paw?
For a bear, the molting process is accompanied by itching, and therefore sometimes he simply chews off the skin on his paw, and from the outside it looks as if he is sucking it. It is worth saying a few more words about hibernation. You should know that not all types of bears hibernate. The polar bear has always been considered the most beautiful species of bear. It has snow-white fur, which perfectly camouflages it with white snow. Representatives of this species can do without hibernation, but this only applies to males. Females still go into hibernation.
Sucking a paw is the same as sleeping This is due to the fact that they are responsible for caring for the offspring. Mother bears must give their cubs rich milk so that they can survive the harsh winter. That's the only reason they hibernate. Male polar bears spend the winter well, eating fish. This is an excellent diet for this animal. Bears are unique animals. This is the most popular animal that is found in Russian folk art.
The bear loves his hut The song the bear sleeps in winter is a work that has long been loved by everyone. The lyrics to the song can be found on the Internet. This is a great option for karaoke performance. No one will deny that the bear is a very beautiful animal, which sometimes itself needs human protection from extermination by poachers. You must always remember that during hibernation this animal is most vulnerable, so you should not take advantage of this and kill a defenseless animal. Love nature, and it will love you back.
Video
People have long been interested in the question of why a bear sucks its paw. This statement arose in ancient times. Over time, the expression “paw sucking” came to mean living from hand to mouth and became firmly entrenched in our vocabulary. Today this phrase can be heard everywhere. Why did people have such an association with it? And all because bears don’t eat in winter. And earlier, people, constantly watching them, were sure that it was out of hunger that animals sucked their paws when they hibernated.
Why does a bear suck its paw while sleeping?
Bears living in temperate to arctic climates hibernate in winter. This is the distinctive ability of these animals. This happens because snow hides a lot of food from bears. And animals feed not only on meat. Their main food is roots, berries and generally anything that can be used for food.
As you know, bears do not eat during hibernation. And in order not to die of hunger, they suck their paw, since it contains a lot of fat. This is the most common version among people. Bears actually fall asleep with their front paws covering their faces. Often they end up in the mouth. And in the spring, when bears come out of their dens, their paws are all covered in rags of old skin. Apparently, this is why people have this opinion.
Bear hibernation
Scientists have long figured out how a bear sleeps in a den and why a bear sucks its paw. As it turns out, it doesn’t do the latter. The bears fall asleep because they cannot feed themselves in the winter. The weight of an adult animal is from 150 to 700 kilograms. Before winter, bears have time to gain a lot of fat. It is spent in winter in sleep.
In this state, the bear's body switches to an economical mode of existence - suspended animation. The animal's breathing and heart rate slow down greatly. And often from the outside it may seem that he is not breathing at all. But this is only an appearance. The state of suspended animation helps bears use oxygen wisely, which saves subcutaneous fat. Namely, it is he who feeds the sleeping animal in winter.
Does a bear actually suck its paw?
Bears actually suck their paws. But only those that grow in captivity. And mostly bear cubs. But such a habit can remain in an adult animal. The reason is that cubs, once born, feed on their mother’s milk for a very long time. And if their birth coincided with the mother’s winter hibernation, then for several months the babies practically do not remove their nipples from their mouths. Moreover, the latter are located in the groin and armpits of the bear.
The cubs sleep on the soft mother's skin and do nothing but feed. Bear milk is very nutritious and fatty. Therefore, the cubs have enough of it for several months. Occasionally, the mother's nipples fall out of her mouth. There are sensitive receptors throughout the body of cubs that signal loss. Therefore, the kids do not remain hungry.
The cubs automatically poke at the mother's body until they find the nipple again. In captivity, cubs lack such maternal warmth, and they make up for it by sucking their own paws. Apparently, they associate this with the mother’s nipple, surrounded by hair. Moreover, the cubs spend several months in the arms of their mother. And in zoos they are not given 24/7 attention. And often they have to feel their loneliness.
Why are bears' paws covered in tatters of skin after winter?
Why does a bear suck its paw in winter? To be more precise, the animal gnaws it. Bear paws have incredibly durable skin. And this is understandable, since their weight is on average 350 kilograms. During spring, summer and autumn, the skin has time to become very rough. This allows bears to move quickly on any surface without injuring their paws. But when animals hibernate in winter, their skin begins to renew.
The formation of a new layer causes severe itching. And the bears automatically begin to gnaw their paws, tearing off the old skin and releasing new ones. If the animals did not do this, they could feel such severe discomfort that they could wake up. And since food cannot be obtained in the required quantity, the bears, when awakened, become angry and dangerous. Therefore, nibbling paws is inherent in them by nature for a restful sleep.
How many bears?
Since ancient times, people have been wondering, Why does he suck his paw at this time? Bear sleep is very sensitive. If there is noise near its den, even a wolf howl, the animal may wake up. Bears do not suck their paws, but since they sleep lightly, they feel the itching and discomfort that occurs during the molting period.
This affects the paws most of all. And then the bears, half asleep, bite off the old skin, releasing a new one. But at the same time they do not wake up. And at the moment of gnawing, the limb is partially in the animal’s mouth. Therefore, people have a question about why a bear sucks its paw.
Do all bears sleep in dens?
Not all bears sleep in cozy dens, sheltered from the snow. You can find animals lying right on the ground. Hunters, if they manage to take a photo, post photographs on the Internet in which the bear’s body is partially outside the den or completely on flat snow. But even in this state, their paws often end up in their mouths.
Perhaps these moments also make people wonder why a bear sucks its paw. But whether in a den or outside, molting and natural reflexes are firmly ingrained in animals. Therefore, even during the deepest sleep, bears gnaw old skin from their paws to avoid itching and discomfort.