Do Polar Bears Hibernate?

[Upham]

I was watching one of those saccharine soaked Christmas Coke ads where the cute widdle polar bears on the ice flows… and then i thought hey… I grew up in the woods and i was always taught that Bears hibernate during the winter (i wish i could say this was part of some sage advise from a respected elder, but i used to watch a lot of Yogi…)

Anyway do they? I mean, it’s basically ALWAYS winter up there, and even if they do hibernate, where would they? It’s not like there’s very many snug little burrows in the permafrosted tundra…
Upham

[MEBuckner]

From the Polar Bears web page on the SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Animal Information Database:

E. Hibernation.

1. Hibernating means to pass the winter in a dormant or lethargic state. Animals that hibernate store body fat when food is plentiful. When food is scarce, they hibernate, living off their stored body fat.

2. Polar bears don’t enter deep hibernation. Deep hibernation applies to an animal whose body temperature drops to 5C (41F) for a period of days or weeks. Deep hibernators also show a marked drop in heart rate, and are slow to wake up when disturbed.

3. Only pregnant female polar bears hibernate.

a. Polar bears aren’t deep hibernators, but enter a state of carnivore lethargy. Though hibernating females sleep soundly, they’re easily and quickly aroused.
b. The female polar bear’s heart rate slows to about 27 beats per minute from a normal resting heart rate of about 46 beats per minute (Stirling, 1988).
c. When hibernating, a female’s body temperature may drop slightly, perhaps to 35C (95F), or it may remain normal at 37C (98.6F). Unlike most other hibernators, female polar bears give birth while hibernating. High body temperature is needed to meet the demands of pregnancy, birth, and nursing (Stirling, 1988).

4. Researchers have found that nonhibernating polar bears, during times of food scarcity, can efficiently utilize their energy reserves much like hibernating bears (Stirling, 1988).

[Upham]

wow…

that’s all i really wanted to know, i think.

[MEBuckner]

Well, it’s definitely something to keep in mind if you’re ever hiking around the Arctic. Remember kids, “hibernating pregnant female polar bears are easily and quickly aroused”, so putting one paw in a pan of warm water to see if she wets the den is not a good idea.

[bare]

No species of bears truly hibernate.

[Badtz_Maru]

I heard that some people who live in the far north (I believe it was some Siberian tribe) hibernate in the same sense that bears hibernate (not true hibernation). The whole tribe will pack in a single building, sleep for at least 20 hours a day, and eat very little.

[UncleBeer]

The whole tribe will pack in a single building, sleep for at least 20 hours a day, and eat very little.

Naw, these people aren’t from Siberia; they’re my cow-orkers.