Grizzly Bear - Seeking Hibernation

A grizzly bear seeking out its den for hibernation.Grizzly bears may gain as much as three pounds of weight a day as they prepare for hibernation. In... more

by Wildlife Fine Art

Title

Grizzly Bear - Seeking Hibernation

Artist

Wildlife Fine Art

Medium

Photograph - Mixed Media

Description

A grizzly bear seeking out its den for hibernation.Grizzly bears may gain as much as three pounds of weight a day as they prepare for hibernation. In the Yellowstone ecosystem, grizzly bears tend to dig or locate dens on the mid to upper one-third of 30-60 degrees slopes with northern exposures between 6,562-10,006 feet in elevation. Pregnant females den at higher elevations than other females and male bears. Hibernation is varied by as much as one month depending on weather conditions. There are several different types of dens utilized by bears. Grizzly bears tend to excavate dens at the base of large trees often on densely vegetated north-facing slopes. This is advantageous in the Yellowstone ecosystem due to prevailing SW winds which accumulate snow on northerly slopes and insulate dens from temperatures which often drop as low as -40 degrees to -60 degrees .Grizzly bears in YNP usually dig new dens but on occasion, dens (especially natural cavities) are re-utilized."Unlike many mammals, bears can see with their eyes in color. They can almost see as well as we do, and they have an excellent sense of smell. The grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) is a circumpolar mammal and a subspecies of brown bear (Ursus arctos).Most bears are born without fur. Cubs can climb, but after a couple of years, their front claws grow too long (up to 4 inches), and they lose Ease of the ability, but they still can climb if needed. They can eat large quantities of food and store significant amount of fat without suffering from health problems. This uncanny ability of grizzlies to store fat content and evade heart diseases continues to baffle scientists all over the world. Bears spend most of their time feeding in preparation for winter hibernation. This period is called hyperphagia stage. The bears are in the hyperphagia stage. Meaning this is a period of intensive feeding by grizzly bears before hibernation. They will consume as much food as possible to make it through their period of hibernation. All my art is generated digitally from my original photographs. All images are copyrighted � Wildlife Fine Art. All Rights Reserved. Copying and/or distributing these images without our permission is strictly prohibited. Any unauthorized usage will be prosecuted to the full extent of U.S. Copyright Law.

Uploaded

February 23rd, 2015