Bears begin 20th hibernation period
Posted by Devin Manky November 12, 2020
On Tuesday, November 10th, Grinder and Coola entered their 20th Hibernation Period on Grouse Mountain! Both bears had been growing increasingly sluggish and were spending more and more time inside their den as the weather became cooler and snow started to fall. They had also completed construction on their winter bed after dragging in lots of Pacific Silver-Fir Branches supplied by caretakers.
This date of November 10th marks the earliest entrance into their winter dormancy here at Grouse Mountain - beating out the previous record of November 16th back in 2015. We hope this bodes well for an early and long ski season!
If you'd like to follow along with Grinder and Coola's winter snooze you can do so by checking out the infrared camera mounted inside their den. You can access it here: https://www.grousemountain.com/web-cams/bear-den-cam - be sure to check out the time-lapse function by using the drop down menu in the upper right corner - this allows you to view a segment from the previous day in a 30 second time lapse.
Even though they are spending large chunks of the day asleep, Grinder and Coola still go through a variety of motions during the winter period - from stretching, rolling over, grooming all the way to even leaving the den to go for a little sleep walk. This activity keeps their bones and muscles healthy over the period of low activity. This way they don't need any physiotherapy when they emerge from the den in the spring!
Sleep well Grinder and Coola ! We'll miss you over the winter and can't wait for the 2021 emergence date!
