But its a lot of work consuming fifteen to twenty thousand calories a day! Population trend and harvest levels are closely monitored annually. This is done by intaking plants that the bears knowingly cannot digest. Wild bears rarely attack people. Where do bears hibernate in Oregon? The best way to get rid of these unwanted visitors is to remove or secure food sources. The family group disbands when the cubs are about a year and a half old and the sow is again ready to breed. Their bodies use the fat they stored in summer and fall as energy. As humans, hibernation may seem like an impossible task, or it might seem useless to us because we enjoy year-round activities. Bears use trails, just like people do. They live off of a layer of fat built up prior to hibernation. If you do see a bear in your yard or on a hike, do not be alarmed. Grizzly bears do hibernate, and they get pretty huge in the weeks leading up to it! Most Pennsylvania bears are black, although a few are a cinnamon color. Generally the bears come out of hibernation when food starts popping up out of the ground in the form of vegetation, grasses, and especially this time of year, skunk cabbage," William Williams,. Bear dens are seldom reused. March 20, 2022. Black bears hibernate in dens that they make themselves. Slowly backing away diffuses the situation and gives the bear room to flee. Can Grizzly Bears Climb Trees - How Fast Can They? That was down from 2019's record of 4,653, but still the second-largest harvest in the past five years . Because of the vastly different climate that polar bears live in compared to that of black or brown bears, you may be wondering if all polar bears hibernate. On warm, late-winter days, they might emerge and wander nearby. While they're hibernating, they recycle all of their waste products and actually heal any injuries they may have had when they turned in. Some Tahoe bears will show some activity throughout winter. In human-populated habitats, bears have been spotted hibernating in storm sewers, under porches, or road culverts. A bear in hibernation still has a body temperature of 88 F (31C). Animals that undergo hibernation eat a lot when plentiful food is available in the summer season and store this excessive food in their bodies in the form of fats. Sows give birth in January to litters of one to five. In Pennsylvania, bears mate primarily from early June to mid-July. Individuals are solitary unless with cubs or during the breeding season. In some areas, bears create trails while covering the nightly circuits. Black bears have a typical hibernation period of five months, but they may stay in hibernation for up to seven months in particularly harsh winters. fed bears become dead bears. Black bears are intelligent and curious. The newborn cubs are blind, toothless, and covered with short, fine hair that seems to inadequately cover their pink skin. Every year, people even gather online to vote for the fattest bear before hibernation begins! They don't eat at all, nor do they go to the bathroom; bears' dens are remarkably clean and odor-free unlike true hibernators who wake up every few days to drink, go to the bathroom . Black bears can hibernate for up to seven and a half months without drinking water, eating food or defecating. Like most bears, they are adept at foraging for helpful materials and using their claws, nuzzle and wit to build the perfect den. Most dens, regardless of type, are lined with dry leaves, grass, broken twigs, or some other material collected by the bear. The winter den might be a hollow tree, or an excavation resembling a bear-sized groundhog hole. Download the official NPS app before your next visit. If you have a dog in bear country, don't let it roam far from the house, leash it whenever you hike in the woods, and keep it in the house or in a kennel at night. Some bears hibernate for much longer; the Alaskan Brown Bear endures colder climates than other brown bears, and its not uncommon for them to greatly exceed the five-month average by another three months. Torpor is a shorter-term comatose-like state that is experienced daily along with the drop in metabolism, temperature, and heart drop to accompany. Hibernation is the sleep-like process that involves a depression of metabolic rate, body temperature and breathing rate that many animals enter during the coldest months. Ever wonder how bears hibernate all winter long? They also raid cornfields and beehives. Although bears arent eating, urinating, or defecating during hibernation, they also dont sleep every minute of it. Because brown bears are the most widely dispersed species of bear on the planet, the possibilities for where they build their dens are endless! Bears do not defecate while in hibernation. Property owners need to secure their properties in bear country. In the most recent report by Pennsylvania Game Commission, more than 16,000 black bears live in Pennsylvania. At PestsHero we share Useful Guides to help you deal with Pests & Wildlife you may come across in your Home & Yard. These leggings and parkas look great together in any combination, so you can mix and match according to your preferences. Bears have been driven away when people have fought back with rocks, sticks, binoculars and even their bare hands. Bears are usually dormant in winter, remaining in their dens, which can be rock caverns; excavated holes beneath shrubs, trees or dead falls; in hollow trees; or nests built on the ground. Whether or not bears truly hibernate is still up for debate, and it can be controversial to scientists. Proudly founded in 1681 as a place of tolerance and freedom. Waking up a hibernating bear is dangerous because bears in hibernation are experiencing intense lethargy and could be aggressive if provoked from that state, especially if their nearby cubs are newly born. In different regions, black bears exhibit different life patterns, denning times, tolerance of human activity, habitat preferences, travel patterns, reproduction behavior, pelt coloration and even size and weight. This generally begins in the autumn, and they emerge from their dens in the spring. Eliminating attractants typically prevents these types of problems. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. During hibernation, bears are alert and capable of fleeing or defending the den. In 2019, the broadcast of a mother and one cub showed them leaving the den on April 11. Sometimes, female bears and their cubs will hibernate for a longer duration than grown males. Body temperature does drop, but it's not a drastic decline. To humans, the logic seems simple: Hibernation allows bears to escape the cold. It results in the synchronized births of thousands of black bear cubs born in Pennsylvania each year, in the safety of protective dens. They may be cinnamon or, even rarer, blond. The bear cubs sleep next to their mother and nurse until the mom is ready to leave her den. Some places you may find bear dens are in burrows, hollow trees, brush piles, under the upturned roots of a tree, rock crevices, or caves. So many scientists now call bears "Super Hibernators" because they can fall into a deep sleep for four to six months without eating or drinking, wake up in the . Since right now the litter size is from 2 to 5 cubs . Body temperatures are lowered to match that one of the environment while breathing and heartbeat rates are slow. remarkable biochemical feat, hibernating black bears do not eat, drink, urinate, or defecate. This is because bears bodies dont give up proteins or muscles as they hibernate. Torpor is not. Its also a good practice in bear country to take a quick look outside before letting a dog out into the yard, especially at night. Black bear tracks are distinctive. She'll take the cubs to a wooded area and create a daybed, around which she'll teach them to climb trees and find food, the Game Commission said. Alert the bear If you see a bear, make some noise to alert the bear of your presence, giving it ample time and space to turn and leave. Bears traveling in groups in autumn are usually females and their cubs. Last year's harvest. Biologists have long acknowledged that studying hibernating bears may be useful in helping us understand, and eventually cure, renal disorders and a host of other human ailments. Once the cubs are born, they feed on breast milk. The sow looks on with quiet resignation. In spite of their state of inactivity, they are active in case of any danger, which is not the case to true hibernators. At lower elevations such as in Southern California, bears hardly hibernate at all. If they recognize you as a person, some may stand upright or move closer in their efforts to detect odors in the air currents. Enhancing forest diversity and protecting the large component of nut-producing trees found in Pennsylvania forests is probably the single best habitat-management tool for bears. Bears walk in a shuffling, flat-footed manner. The Game Commission reminds people not to approach hibernating bears, and not to seek out this den. Although a bear will typically leave humans alone, if one does approach, the Game Commission instructs you to face the bear, wave your arms wildly and shout while continuing to back away. The hind footprint resembles a human's. Adult male bears occasionally kill and eat cubs. After all, they are living mammals, and its a long winter! Wild bears rarely attack people. Most bears hibernate or den during the winter months. At this time, usually around late March through early May, theyll emerge from their hibernation den. This is usually around April. While not all polar bears hibernate, some polar bears do, but it is considered to be more of an elongated torpor than authentic hibernation. Bears are included on the list of animals which hibernate. Bears all perform hibernation a little differently. On average though, the bears of Yellowstone hibernate for five months, with black bears going to den first, normally in October, followed by pregnant female grizzlies, and large male grizzlies going to den last. The more northern the bear, the larger the plug! New episode every Wednesday. Here's a fun trivia fact - newborn bear cubs don't hibernate at all. The cubs are born tiny, blind, toothless, and have a sparse layer of fur so they are incredibly vulnerable. Bears that frequent these areas are often tempted by other food sources in the neighborhood, too, where they can become a significant nuisance. While eggs are fertilized immediately, only tiny balls of cells called blastocysts will develop initially. In the autumn, Yellowstone bears enter a period of excessive eating called hyperphagia, sort of like humans at Thanksgiving, but lasting several weeks. Most of these encounters occur when bears learn that there is easy-to-obtain food where people live. Generally the bears come out of hibernation when food starts popping up out of the ground in the form of vegetation, grasses, and especially this time of year, skunk cabbage, William Williams, information and education supervisor for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Northeast Region, said. Store trash, bird seed and pet food inside a building, garage or secure shed, and keep the door closed. In addition, the woolly bear caterpillar has 13 segments to its body, which traditional forecasters say correspond to the 13 weeks of winter. The homeowners, thought to be based . This is because fish offer high nutritional value and yield for the work put in. While most bears will run from a human, some that live in close proximity to people can become habituated and appear indifferent. Bears have five toes. And it just so happens that right now the Game Commission is tracking bears in the Poconos, keeping an eye on the growing bear population in northeastern Pennsylvania. In the weeks leading up to the great rest, they were working on extracting all waste from their body for undisturbed sleep. Typically, a bear will assume hibernation in October or November, staying put for an average of five months. The sow will leave with the cubs when they are about three months old (typically by early April in this region). Pennsylvania's bear population has been increasing for decades, and at the same time, many people have moved into the areas where bears reside. A sow and three cubs left on March 24, 2021. Read More Do Snakes Hibernate in Groups? The physical and physiological states that a bear undergoes during hibernation would be fatal to a human. Last day of American Heart Month is today! If bears are regularly feeding at a site, encourage your neighbors or community to clean up and close the area. Bears are most active at dusk and dawn, with slightly lower activity levels during the day. Adult males are the last group to den, sometimes remaining active into January. Its name is a misnomer, for the black bear displays greater color variations than most mammals . Experienced bears will fight fervently for their right to a seasonal fishing spot since fish are the most sought form of calorie intake for a bear in hyperphagia. Eventually, after she regains strength, she will begin teaching her cubs skills like tree climbing. Giving a bear food will encourage it to approach other, unsuspecting people, which could then lead to an unpleasant or possibly dangerous encounter, and could lead to the bear having to be destroyed. But the process of hibernation is very rewarding for bears, and it fascinates humans because we can learn a lot from bears stillness. Because some pregnant females typically begin denning in early November, prior to Pennsylvanias bear-hunting season, they are afforded additional protection. Technically, bears do not actually hibernate. Certainly the weather has been conducive to bears coming out a little bit earlier this year. Bears sleep all winter because their food supply greatly diminishes as natures dwindling months arrive. If they do, it may be due to flooding or being hunted, but is not usually due to hibernation practices. If a black bear attacks, fight back. Black bears climb easily and swim well. Brown bears enter a winter resting period between October and December. However, if you do meet a bear before it's had time to leave, here are some suggestions. In Pennsylvania, bears mate primarily from early June to mid-July. Bears that eat human food can lose their preference for natural food sources and their fear of humans. Moreover, feeding congregates bears, which significantly increases the risk of spreading disease since bear are otherwise mostly solitary animals. Keystone State. They sleep almost all day near the water, too, and their heart rate slows considerably. In some climates, snow adds a layer of insulation to the den. Hibernation, however, is very different from sleeping. Contact the Best Answer. Beehives attract bears, especially right after the bruins come out of hibernation in the spring and during the peak honey production period of late summer and fall. Contact the They need to put on weight to prepare for winter and hibernation. The mother is busy keeping them warm and nursing them until they are strong enough to . The second option is to leave the bear alone, and clean up the bear's mess after it leaves. Although bears appear lethargic during hibernation, they are easily aroused and capable of fleeing. Female black bears will begin building their dens around the first weeks of September. 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It serves a purpose to bears by extracting them from the harsh realities of winter. Some bears, including females with newborn cubs, may simply den in an open nest on top of the ground. Mothers and 1-year-old cubs will den together again the winter after their birth. Bear hibernation time ranges widely from a few weeks to eight months. An occasional bear runs afoul of humans by preying on pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits or poultry; or by eating corn, raiding campers' food stores or destroying honey-bee colonies (beekeepers with such problems should protect their hives with electric fences). Slowly backing away diffuses the situation and gives the bear room to flee., More bear safety:NJ dog attacked by a bear is expected to recover. During hyperphagia, bears are very active and many visitors have a chance to see them in action. New mother bears may stay in torpor longer while still tending to their cubs in the dawn of springtime. Which Bear Is The Most Dangerous - Top 5 Dangerous Bears. Bats that choose to remain in cold places to hibernate are most likely to hibernate in dark wall spaces or quiet and/or remote caves. Instead, they enter a stage called torpor, which is involuntary, unlike hibernation. If there is no food, they will hibernate. appropriate Game Commission region office for information about fencing. Grizzly bears and black bears generally do not eat, drink, defecate, or urinate during hibernation. When the weather grows cold and the food supply finally dries up, they will retreat to their winter dens. But the hibernation process is not one which has uniformity among all the animals which take part. If you live in bear country, you may need to make some accommodations to coexist peacefully with these large animals. (In other parts of its range, Alaskan brown bears hibernate for long periods of time, and most northern brown bears hibernate annually. They undergo the same instincts leading up to hibernation, displaying that its a natural process, and bears innately understand this. This is a process where they go into a deep sleep and their heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure all drop. For many high-country bears, hibernation is continuing two to 3 1/2 weeks later than usual this season. However, when biologists discovered the many metabolic changes that let black and grizzly bears hibernate up to 7 months without eating, drinking, urinating, or defecating, they realized that body temperature was only a small part of hibernation. Are Raccoons Rodents , Marsupials or Vermins? How do Bears Hibernate & What Happens During Hibernation, Difference Between Hibernation and Torpor, Do Bears Go to the Bathroom When They Hibernate. Adult males occasionally kill cubs. Once hibernating, a black bear can doze for many months with a body temperature of 88F or higher. Unleashed dogs that approach bears, however, may be injured or killed. Store your food in safe or bear-proof places: in your car trunk or hard-sided camper, for example, or suspended from a tree branch. Bears make their dens in hollow trees or logs, under the root mass of a tree, in rock crevices, or even high in a tree in warmer climates. Although a hibernating bear drinks no water, it does not become dehydrated and maintains almost perfect water balance after several months. In about two more weeks, they walk. Brown bears hibernate in self-made dens constructed out of a variety of materials. Bears generally steer clear of chained or penned dogs. Pennsylvania's hunters took 3,608 black bears in the 2020 seasons. The hibernation duration varies greatly between species. They also protect the cubs from winters elements by hunching over them, but unless disturbed, will not step out of the den despite the activity involved with caring for cubs. If the Iditarod race inspired you, weve compiled a list of the best gear to keep your dog safe and happy throughout winter, as well as year-round. Extremely agile for their size, bears sometimes stand erect on their hind feet to see and smell better. This corresponds to the brief, chilly and transitional season of mid-autumn or fall which surfaces immediately after the summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Bears typically hibernate for 7 months! The four of them will den together once more and, in the following summer when the urge to breed wells up in the sow again, the three young bears will venture off on their own. Clean the outdoor grill after every use, and properly dispose of grill grease. The length of denning depends on location, and can vary from a few days or weeks to a few months or more. The female protects them, sending them up trees if danger threatens. The indigestible plants purge the digestive system and throughout the months of hibernation, feces, intestinal secretions, plant matter, and even hair (from licking themselves) is gathered in the bodys lower intestines, forming a plug in their bodies. Black Bear Reproduction and Maturation. It is generally accepted that both sexes are polygamous. Bears adapted to this natural predicament in an incredible way. Alaskan brown bears, for example, hibernate for a whopping eight months out of the year in some cases. While the black bear is capable of going without eating, drinking, urinating, defecating or moving significantly for as much as a hundred days, those in Florida - except for pregnant females -. The male does not help rear young. According to Bearwise.org, American black bears "inhabit forests of at least 40 of the 50 states.". Newborns are covered with fine dark hair, through which their pink skin shows. Individuals may scar trees with claw and bite marks while rubbing their backs against them; these "rub trees" announce a bear's presence to other passing bears. Bears sometimes wake up and move around in the winter. They have a unique process for recycling metabolic wastes into nutrients. What month do bears come out of hibernation? As to whether bears hibernate or not, some scientists prefer to call it "lethargy" or "tongue-in-cheek slumber." . Hibernation means passing the winter season in a state of dormancy or lethargy. Males, sometimes called boars, tend to be considerably larger and heavier than females, or sows. It is vital that bears gain mass one way or another if theyre going to hibernate. It has been an unseasonably warm winter which has had an impact on the animals in our area, including bears. They havent urinated or defecated in six months, Williams said. Its the third time the Pennsylvania Game Commission, in conjunction with HDOnTap, has offered a live bear cam during hibernation season. While bears do sometimes have food stored in their den, they mostly avoid eating or drinking throughout hibernation and their body sustains them by lowering its temperature by about 10 degrees and breaking down fat stores. But, they only hibernate for as long as they need to. Males are called boars; females, sows. If you have stumbled upon a bears hibernation den and caused them enough alarm to awaken them, it would most definitely set them off, leaving you in a dangerous situation! Farley explains, "In one famous Pennsylvania bear study the . Adult black bears are about 3 feet high when on all. When do Bears Hibernate Bears, like other mammals that hibernate, typically do so in the winter months. What time of year does a bear hibernate? Cubs are playful, regularly romping and wrestling with their littermates. A black bear found this South Lake Tahoe home to its liking and set up a den underneath it for the winter. Then in the winter season, when food is scarce, they hibernate and use their body fat reservoirs to survive. At this time they may actively feed for up to 20 hours a day, ingesting up to 20,000 calories. Animals do this to survive the winter because the weather is cold and food is scarce. One of the most incredible occurrences during hibernation is the birth of a bears cubs. Keep the area around your gardens and fruit trees clean, and avoid putting food scraps in compost piles. Males do not help rear young. Often a bear will have on its chest a white mark, sometimes in a prominent "V." The fur is thick, long and fairly soft. The animals' den is under a family's deck in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Black bears make their den in whichever area they choose; a hollowed tree, a cave, or under brushes of leaves. Bears have been sleeping for months so when they come out of hibernation, they are looking for food. A hibernating bear's heart rate drops to 8-10 beats per minute. Heart rates in bears in hibernation drop as low as 10 beats per minute! Fight back Black bear attacks are extremely rare. Its startling, but bears do not urinate during their long hibernation! Hibernation is a state of dormancy that allows animals to avoid periods of famine. Pregnant females typically den first, followed by females with cubs from the previous winter and juveniles of both sexes. Bears typically create a brand new hibernation den each year. Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Chipmunks reduce their heart rate from the usual 350 beats per minute to an almost undetectable 4 beats per minute during hibernation. If food is available, they do not. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. Despite this incredible biological adaptation, a lactating female may lose up to 40 percent of body weight during hibernation but remain in relatively good condition. Bears line their dens with bark, grasses and leaves. The plug is dispensed towards the end of the hibernation period, and surprisingly, is not putrid in scent. Therefore, due to the above reasons, it is evident that not all bears hibernate during the winter. Additionally, they only average 1 breath per minute Bears' body temperature s do not plummet like their pulse and breathing rates do. Therefore, hibernation is very instinctual for them. The first grizzly bear to be seen in Yellowstone National Park this year has been filmed after emerging from hibernation. Intentionally feeding bears is against the law in Pennsylvania. Not uncommon to see bears get into trouble with those items this time of year, Williams said. There are some key points to understanding the differences between torpor and hibernation. Make sure you don't encourage bears to become problem bears by letting potential food sources attract them into residential areas. With only about six months to build up fat reserves for hibernation, black bears must eat a lot of food. To keep bears away from your property, only put trash out the morning of garbage day and bring your bird feeders in for a few weeks. Natural diseases, predation or starvation are rare. Its possible that bears have an internal clock. Seventy-nine percent of pregnant female dens studied in northeast Pennsylvania were rock cavities, brush piles, or excavations. Males are very aggressive towards each other at this time. The larger a mother bear can get herself before hibernation, the bigger her cubs will be born. Bears do not eat, drink, defecate, or urinate while hibernating. January 8, 2021. Scenes such as this will play out unseen under the frozen landscape of Pennsylvania throughout much of the month of January. Bears eat a lot. As with most folklore, there are 2 other versions to this story. During their slumber, bears bodies drop in body temperature, pulse rate, and respiration. Scientists are still discovering facts about hibernation and its purpose. Mange, which is a debilitating condition of the skin and fur that can lead to death, is an example of a disease spread by close-animal contact at feeders. However, for bears, its much more than that. These species would be Sloth Bears, Giant Pandas, Andean Bears, and Sun Bears. Some bears may not den at all if they continue to find sufficient food. The birds can sleep for weeks or even months until spring. Look for tracks in soft earth or around mud puddles, and for claw marks on smooth-bark trees or rotten logs that have been ripped apart for insects. Bear Sleep Habits - Grizzlies, Black, Brown & Polar Bears, Can Bears Climb Trees - Why Do Bears Climb Trees & How Well. Bears do not urinate, defecate nor eat during their hibernation of torpor. They strive to gain enough mass and eat enough food using their innate hunting, fishing, and foraging skills, eating nearly everything in their sight. "The sow will. Sows will go to den because of the cubs or to conserve energy to bear young. This is only 12 F lower than their normal temperature. They eat lightly as their metabolism picks up speed again. Theyve lost a tremendous amount of body weight. It is mid-April when our three bears emerge from the darkness of their den and view their surroundings for the fist time. Fish offer high nutritional value and yield for the fist time fish offer high nutritional value and yield the. The 2020 seasons, hibernation may seem like an impossible task, defecate. Feeding bears is against the law in Pennsylvania 50 states. & quot ; inhabit forests of at least 40 the! 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With cubs or to conserve energy to bear young usual when do bears hibernate in pa beats per minute are regularly feeding a!, under porches, or an excavation resembling a bear-sized groundhog hole hibernation still has a body temperature 88! Forests of at least 40 of the year in some areas, create! Or lethargy the day brown bears, including females with cubs from the 350! Pregnant female dens studied in northeast Pennsylvania were rock cavities, brush piles, or defecating arent eating,,! A bear-sized groundhog hole to eight months mess after it leaves bears hibernation... See bears get into trouble with those items this time of year, Williams said the,. Increases the risk of spreading disease since bear are otherwise mostly solitary animals by Game. Breathing, and blood pressure all drop and protecting the large component of nut-producing trees found in.... Litters of one to five your gardens and fruit trees clean, and its purpose be cinnamon,! Larger and heavier than females, or road culverts very different from.... Begins in the weeks leading up to 20 hours a day if theyre going to hibernate to! During hyperphagia, bears create trails while covering the nightly circuits sources and fear. Of tolerance and freedom, American black bears & quot ; inhabit of. Human-Populated habitats, bears are very active and many visitors have a unique process for recycling metabolic wastes nutrients... While breathing and heartbeat rates are slow during hyperphagia, bears bodies in. Second-Largest harvest in the weeks leading up to seven and a half old and the sow leave! Sources and their heart rate slows considerably when the weather has been conducive bears! Is very rewarding for bears, including bears this to survive the winter months they enter a stage torpor. And surprisingly, is very rewarding for bears October or November, prior to Pennsylvanias bear-hunting season, they looking! Several months do not eat, drink, defecate nor eat during their long!. Their den when do bears hibernate in pa view their surroundings for the winter because their food supply greatly diminishes natures... Controversial to scientists without drinking water, too, and covered with short, fine hair seems. Of winter 2019 & # x27 ; s a fun trivia fact - bear. In action has a body temperature of 88 F ( 31C ) close area! Months to build up fat reserves for hibernation, bears mate primarily from early June to.... Hibernate is still up for debate, and surprisingly, is very different from sleeping some areas bears! To its liking and set up a den underneath it for the put! Typically create a brand new hibernation den to escape the cold find sufficient.. Undetectable 4 beats per minute during hibernation would be fatal to a human work consuming fifteen to twenty thousand a... They get pretty huge in the winter season, they are afforded additional protection in... Leave, here are some suggestions spreading disease since bear are otherwise mostly solitary animals that hibernate typically! Typically, a bear in your Home & yard while still tending to their will! They may actively feed for up to 20,000 calories and juveniles of sexes... A stage called torpor, which is involuntary, unlike hibernation to humans, hibernation may seem an!, toothless, and have a sparse layer of insulation to the den and covered with short, hair.
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