Between October and December, brown bears go into hibernation. As a rule, they dig a burrow, which they often use for several years in a row. Natural caves or crevices can also serve as retreats. Before winter the resting place is comfortably padded with grass, leaves, ferns, moss and lichen. It’s a good place to doze off, because brown bears don’t hibernate deeply like hedgehogs, for example. Although the bears slow their heart rate and breathing rate, they are easily awakened and able to fend off an enemy attack.
Before they hibernate, they have to eat up a decent layer of fat because they lose about a third of their body weight during hibernation. Incidentally, the scientific community does not agree on the term used for the hibernation of bears: hibernation, hibernation, torpor, hibernation – many terms circulate here. However, it is always about saving energy when there is no food available.
It is often wrongly assumed that the cold drives bears into caves, because unlike us humans, bears are relatively insensitive to sub-zero temperatures, snow and frost. He uses the lush time of autumn, in which the fat and sugary fruits, such as nuts, beechnuts, seeds, berries or the like, are to be harvested to «eat fat». In winter, this layer of fat then makes it possible to survive – while reducing energy consumption. And that’s why rest is an important prerequisite.