Grinder and Coola have begun to prepare for their 8th winter hibernation. As the days grow shorter and the temperatures fall lower, the bears are getting more sluggish and sleepy. Both bears have begun to sleep 14-16 hours a day and are spending their remaining hours building their den and making sure things are just right with their hibernation bed.
At the refuge we are also preparing for hibernation and are making sure our bear cameras are in working order. Everything is running well and posted below are a series of videos showing Grinder and Coola's preparations.
Staff have thrown in extra Pacific Silver-fir (Amabalis) branches for bedding material; the bears have shown a preference for this type of branch since the needles are dense and flat on the branch. The first video shows the bears pulling the branches in through the main door of their hibernation hotel:
After pulling the branches in, Grinder arranges them into their den chamber - he has to get each piece in the right spot!
Finally, Grinder inspects his handi-work:
All of this leads to a good nights sleep as we can see in this clip from 2 in the morning the following night!
The bears will continue these preparations over the next few days and will eat less and less food as the snow starts to fall. After our first good snow fall the boys will enter the den for the winter and officially be in hibernation.
