# If bears don't hibernate, then what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 9, 2005, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944 "2005-01-09T23:29:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2005, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/1 "2005-01-09T23:29:02Z")
In [this slightly hijacked thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=5699232), I was informed that bears don’t (technically) hibernate. Oookayyy. But I’m not completely ready to accept that. I looked up “hibernate” in the dictionary. [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com) has three entries, one of which is; > [@](#): > > Hibernate > > v 1: sleep during winter; “Bears must eat a lot of food before they hibernate in their caves” [syn: hole up] [ant: estivate] 2: be in an inactive or dormant state True, there are others; > [@](#): > > : to pass the winter in a torpid or resting state; especially : to pass the winter in a torpid condition in which the body temperature drops to a little above freezing and metabolic activity is reduced nearly to zero —compare ESTIVATE but none that _exclude_ this one. I understand that dictionary definitions tend to be weak arguements, so I come to the vast resources at the SDMB. Convince me, and millions of little children, that bears do not hibernate. Be brave, all you intellectuals. 😉 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2005, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/2 "2005-01-09T23:54:16Z")
[Read this.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibernate) The Wikipedia is probably the fastest way to find something (I use it before Google usually). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/3 "2005-01-10T00:02:55Z")
As was explained in the other thread, terms like “hibernate” can have both popular and technical meanings. According to the popular definition of the term (as in the dictionary entries you cite), yes, you could say bears hibernate. As the Wikipedia entry indicates, however, according to the definition usually used by animal physiologists bears do not undergo true hibernation. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/4 "2005-01-10T00:19:29Z")
I remember hearing some scientist arguing that bears really do hibernate, saying that the only thing was, because they’re so big, they can’t lose body heat as quickly as smaller hibernators, so that anyone using a particular yardstick of body temperature might well say that bears don’t measure up as true hibernators. Can’t find a cite for that on the web, but I did find a few people saying [bears really do hibernate](http://www.boston.com/globe/search/stories/health/how_and_why/020199.htm) ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/5 "2005-01-10T00:34:02Z")
Ok, I guess I can be a little exctitable when long-held beliefs are challenged. But I’m pretty sure that most people understand that bears don’t go cold while in their dens. But they do slow their metabolisms and remain quite still. The Wikipedia article states that bears are “easily” aroused during this time. I’m not sure that’s true, unless “aroused” simply means “awakend”. I’ve seen film of Polar bears having a pretty difficult time getting moving when they emerge in the spring, and the cubs running and playing while mom “shakes it off”. But that’s just technicalities. As to the second part of my question; What do animal physiologists call the state that bears (and many other animals) adopt to survive the winter? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/6 "2005-01-10T01:50:59Z")
IANA expert, but try “estivate.” ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/7 "2005-01-10T02:20:29Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > IANA expert, but try “estivate.” No, that’s done in the summer. Follow **mstay** ’s link then go down and click on “estivation” for an explanation. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/8 "2005-01-10T02:45:04Z")
I think they just “sleep”. A lot. Of course, back when zoology was done by guys with notebooks walking through the woods, it looked like they were hibernating. It’s not until we started taking temperatures, checking blood pressure and heart rates and taking better notes that we realized that the three things that typify “hibernation” (low body temperature, reaching hypothermic states, drastically slowed metabolism and not being easily roused) don’t apply to bears. I’m really sorry if I warped your world, Mangeorge. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/9 "2005-01-10T04:20:26Z")
No, they [don’t](http://www.cattales.org/bear.html) hibernate. They’re just sleeping. Yes, they [do](http://www.bear.org/Black/BlackBearResearch/Bear_Center_Conducts_Hibernation_Study.html) hibernate and they are very, very efficient at it. I’ve seen everything about this. “Bears are just sleeping, and wake up a lot.” “Bears are in a deep sleep and actually give birth while hibernating.” “Smaller animals wake up a lot more often than bears.” Apparently, bears in zoos are not much good for study purposes as to their hibernation, because being watched changes what they do. There . . . did that help? ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/10 "2005-01-10T04:23:21Z")
> [@Cicada2003](#): > > I’ve seen everything about this. … _sigh_ another correction. This sounded kind of arrogant as wrutten and was not what I meant. What I meant was that I’ve seen it all different ways–bears hibernate better, sleep deeper, sleep not as deep, wake up more often, amazingly enough don’t wake up at all not even to eliminate . . . ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/11 "2005-01-10T04:24:33Z")
Sheesh. WRITTEN. (enable edit posts? please, please, please?) ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/12 "2005-01-10T06:23:38Z")
I’ve seen bears active in January in Yosemite Valley. Looking for a “mid-winter” snack in the dumpsters I suppose (before the bear-proof kind were invented). But most definitely not hibernating. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/13 "2005-01-10T17:33:56Z")
> [@Hilarity N. Suze](#): > > Sheesh. WRITTEN. > > (enable edit posts? please, please, please?) With such a great username how can you expect to not make a funny series of mistakes 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/14 "2005-01-10T17:51:44Z")
> [@Hilarity N. Suze](#): > > _sigh_ another correction. This sounded kind of arrogant as wrutten and was not what I meant. What I meant was that I’ve seen it all different ways–bears hibernate better, sleep deeper, sleep not as deep, wake up more often, amazingly enough don’t wake up at all not even to eliminate . . . Also, just out of curiosity, who is Cicada2003? So is the consensus then that it’s not very certain if bears hibernate but most scientists think they don’t? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/15 "2005-01-10T18:15:02Z")
> [@audiobottle](#): > > So is the consensus then that it’s not very certain if bears hibernate but most scientists think they don’t? Once again, it’s a matter of definition. Depending on what exact definition you use, bears may or may not hibernate. Most scientists, I think, would say that bears don’t reduce their body temperture enough to be considered true hibernators. The person who wrote **Hilarity N. Suze’s** second link uses a much looser definition of hibernation, and therefore says that bears hibernate. However, I don’t know exactly how much controversy there is between these viewpoints because I don’t spend a lot of time reading the recent literature in mammalian physiology. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/16 "2005-01-11T00:34:46Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I think they just “sleep”. A lot. Of course, back when zoology was done by guys with notebooks walking through the woods, it looked like they were hibernating. It’s not until we started taking temperatures, checking blood pressure and heart rates and taking better notes that we realized that the three things that typify “hibernation” (low body temperature, reaching hypothermic states, drastically slowed metabolism and not being easily roused) don’t apply to bears. > > **I’m really sorry if I warped your world, Mangeorge.** ☹ I bolded that last sentence for emphasis, all by myself. 😉 Don’t worry, my world was warped _long_ before you came around. And your answer is, according to the amazingly patient **Colibri** and many others, patently wrong. The answer is, it’s ok to say “bears hibernate”, unless you aim to be scientifically correct. But you can’t just say “bears do not hibernate” without qualifying your statement by adding a word such as “technically”. Unless, of course, your discussion is in a scientific context. Most all of the cites did exactly that by explaining that bears hibernate differently than other, smaller animals. Scientific discussion about this difference is actually pretty recent. Still, you’d think the scientists could come up with a better word than “hole up” for what bears technically do . It’s definitely more simple sleep. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/17 "2005-01-11T00:49:32Z")
That final sentence should read; “It’s definitely more _than_ simple sleep.” Thnak you vewwy much. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/18 "2005-01-11T03:22:24Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Still, you’d think the scientists could come up with a better word than “hole up” for what bears technically do . It’s definitely more simple sleep. Sometimes it’s referred to as _seasonal torpor_, or _winter dormancy_. A few sites referred to bears as being _super-hibernators_, or as undergoing _carnivore lethargy._ Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer choich. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/19 "2005-01-11T03:52:51Z")
To be honest, I don’t think that anybody really knows what the heck hibernation is. I say this because I was watching a program on NASA’s research into the hibernation of a species of Alaskan ground squirrel (BTW, it’s really funny, because they keep them in drawers, and slide them out to check on them periodically! 😃 ), and the scientists made the claim that those squirrels are the _only_ mammals that hibernate (which makes me wonder what animals _do_ hibernate), all other mammals just go into a “deep sleep.” ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944/20 "2005-01-11T04:00:43Z")
Well, so much for my thought that seeing them in January meant they weren’t hibernating. According to [www.bear.org](http://www.bear.org/Black/Black_Bear_Facts.html) > [@](#): > > Do bears hibernate? When hibernation was defined simply in terms of temperature reduction, bears were not considered hibernators. New knowledge of hibernation processes has led biologists to redefine mammalian hibernation as simply a specialized, seasonal reduction of metabolism concurrent with the environmental pressures of scarce food and low ambient temperatures. Black bears are now considered highly efficient hibernators. They sleep for months without eating, drinking, urinating, or defecating. Hibernators with lower body temperatures, such as chipmunks, woodchucks, and ground squirrels, cannot do this. These smaller mammals must awaken every few days, raise their temperatures to over 94 degrees, move around in their burrows, and urinate. Some of them must also eat and defecate during arousals. Black bears have far more insulative pelts and have lower surface to mass ratios than the smaller hibernators. As a result, bears’ body heat is lost very slowly, enabling them to cut their metabolic rate in half and still make it through winter, maintaining temperatures above 88 degrees–within 12 degrees of their normal summer temperature. (Excerpted from “A Bear In Its Lair” by Lynn Rogers, Natural History Magazine, October 1981). Mothers wake up to give birth, typically in mid to late January, and take excellent care of the cubs in the den, licking them clean and responding to every cry for warmth and milk. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-bears-dont-hibernate-then-what/283944.md?page=2)