Do bears really sleep all winter?

[aldiboronti]

Link to Cecil’s column.

From the column:

One notable aspect of bear hibernation is formation of an anal plug, but I’d just as soon not get into that.

Rarely have I known the big guy turn aside from icky stuff. Come on, Cecil, you’ve whetted our curiosity. Inquiring minds want your take on ursine anal plugs!

[Flyer]

If you can overlook the British spelling, this will help you out.

Intestinal secretions and cells continue to shed during hibernation, making poop even if the bear has had nothing to eat.

“During five to seven months in dens, bears accumulate faeces in the lower 7-15 inches of the intestine to form a ‘plug’ 1.5 to 2.5 inches (3.8 to 6.4 centimetres) in diameter,” the North American Bear Centre explains on its website.

“The faecal plug is simply faeces that have remained in the intestine so long that the intestinal walls have absorbed the fluids out of it, leaving it dry and hard.”

Do Bears Poop When They're Hibernating?

(As an aside, “bear hibernation poop” ranks astonishingly high on Google’s list of suggestions.)

[Chayan]

They actually torpor. And for readers, that’s a big deal. Because if a reader were to stumble upon a hibernating animal, they could just about do anything to the animal. If you stumble upon a bear den, you’d better run. They might be groggy but they will come out to investigate.

http://www.bigcat.org/news/the-truth-about-bears-and-hibernation

[puzzlegal]

I went to a nature museum somewhere where they had a bear anal plug in a display case. It looked like dry poop. Other than the back story about bears hibernating (or torporing, or whatever) there was absolutely nothing interesting about it.