Fast asleep to wide awake: Hibernating bears, predation and pregnancy
Wednesday, August 17, 2011 - 08:31
in Biology & Nature
Black bears hibernate, sleeping their way through winter, and who can blame them? New research shows that, despite low heart rates and respiration, hibernating black bears are always alert to danger and ready to act. Additionally, the heart rates of pregnant bears, which give birth during winter months, increase as the pregnancy progresses but return to hibernation levels after the cubs are born.