Yesterday we speculated on the start of hyperphagia, the annual period in bears’ lives when they gobble as much food as possible to add pounds they will need to survive through the winter, when food is scarce and they won’t be eating. It happens every year at the end of summer, and it happens to all bears, whether they are in the wild or not. And the remarkable thing is that it even happens to ABR cubs who, as orphans, have not had an example to follow or been taught by a mother bear. Hyperphagia is triggered automatically, as the cubs’ bodies tell them to get busy gaining weight. If you have followed our cubs in previous years, you probably recall that when they are released back into the wild they weigh upwards of 70 pounds, sometimes as much as 100 pounds!

The first indication of hyperphagia is when the cubs aren’t playing and wrestling as much as they were, and instead are more focused on eating. Adult bears will spend as many as 22 hours a day eating, and will consume 20,000 calories, adding a pound or more each day! The cubs won’t eat quite that much, of course, but proportional to their size, they will match the adult bears.

Our human calendar marks the end of summer (playtime) with Labor Day. The cubbies’ calendar seems to have marked the end of their summer (playtime) with the onset of hyperphagia.

In both enclosures the cubs were foraging on raspberries, blackberries, pears, peaches, figs, strawberries, peanuts, pecans, and the all-important bear diet pellets. What a bountiful selection of nutritious foods to add pounds and make the cubs chubby and healthy! Watch them as they grow rounder with each day!