Throughout a mid-January arctic blast, Summit County confronted extreme climate that paralyzed the neighborhood for a number of days. Within the week previous, the U.S. Forest Service carried out a managed burn in Breckenridge’s Peak 7 neighborhood. The temperatures had been gentle. Round this time, I used to be taking the trash out, and my Bernese mountain canine began growling. Following their gaze, I found a bear clinging excessive above on a tree trunk. I assumed “It’s January, black bears are supposed to be hibernating.”  I believe that the managed burn might have disturbed this bear throughout his winter nap. 

So, do black bears hibernate? The confusion is a matter of semantics. Additional confusion is due to a black bear’s geographic area, its coloration and fatness. The American Black bear is a species, not a coloration. In Colorado, many black bears are blonde, cinnamon, or brown. With their large fur coats, they will look bigger than they’re. 

Black bears don’t hibernate due to the cruel winters, however relatively due to the shortage of meals availability. Environmental circumstances drive them. Pure meals lower with winter climate. In Summit County, bears start to den in November for the following 4 to 6 months since meals is scarce. What we consider as a black bear’s hibernation is definitely “torpor,” a state of restricted exercise and notable physiological change. A bear’s coronary heart charge decreases, its metabolism reduces, and physique temperatures lower minimally.  

Black bears can rapidly awaken with out ready for his or her physique temperatures to rise. This permits bears to defend themselves successfully ought to an outdoor predator disturb them of their dens. Grownup bears don’t eat, drink, defecate, or urinate whereas denning. These usually pressing wants are suppressed because of the decline in bodily capabilities. As an alternative, the bears reside off the saved fats, which is why they need to pack on the kilos within the fall in the course of the part referred to as “hyperphagia.” Hyperphagia in Summit County begins step by step in early September.

Throughout late January and early February, snow is falling, and the wind is swirling. In a den by herself, a feminine bear (or sow, as biologists want to name them) finds a spot that’s protected to present delivery to cubs, which weigh lower than a pound every. The gestation interval for a black bear is seven months. Mating occurs in June; fetal improvement is within the final two months of being pregnant following the egg implanting within the uterus. That is referred to as delayed implantation. The egg doesn’t implant till the mom has sufficient vitamins to survive and she will present an sufficient quantity of milk for her cub(s). As soon as born, these fine-haired, blind, and deaf cubs make their approach as much as their mom’s teats to suckle on the protein-rich milk.

A sow has just one or two cubs per litter out of a attainable six litters in a lifetime. Because the mom ages, the litter measurement might enhance to 4 or extra. Sadly, nevertheless, there’s a excessive cub-mortality charge. In Summit County, a mom and her cubs emerge from the den in late April or early Might. Cubs will stick with their mom till 16-17 months of age.

Bears have a superb sense of odor and may be lured by something edible, akin to rubbish, compost, hen feeders, pet meals, or barbecue grills. Retailer these things in a locked shed, storage, or wildlife-resistant container. Clear up any spills or leftovers. Please clear your trash can often, and spray it with disinfectant. It’s a good behavior to be “bear conscious year-round!”

“Get Wild” publishes on Fridays within the Summit Every day Information. Gail Marshall has lived in Breckenridge for 30 years and offered Bear Conscious neighborhood training since 1998. She is a buddy of the Eagle-Summit Wilderness Alliance, an all-volunteer nonprofit that helps the U.S. Forest Service shield and protect the wilderness areas in Eagle and Summit counties. For extra info, go to EagleSummitWilderness.org.