Sleep Patterns Changing

Posted on   December 14, 2019
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Category  :  Bear Feature Stories & Photos

It’s very interesting to see the changes in our cubs’ behavior as they near the time of year when they are much less active – hibernation or torpor, as biologists refer to it. Now that the curators have stopped adding food to Enclosure #4, the three bears who will spend the winter with us are obviously slowing down. Lethargy has set in. Look at this sequence of photos that show one day in their lives.

After sleeping in the Acclimation Pen loft, Jessamine comes down first.
Boudreaux is the next cub to arise.
Boudreaux – a cub on a mission. What a handsome little bear!
Sleepy Beignet was the last to get up.
Beignet comes out of the gate into the enclosure.
A new camera angle shows where Jessamine’s daybed is located. The LA cubs shared it with her for a while.
In mid-afternoon, Boudreaux returns to the loft filled with straw.
Beignet soon follows her brother.
Jessamine joins them soon after.
It was still early when all three cubs were sound asleep.

It’s still not definite that they will choose to den in the Acclimation Pen, but it seems that they are leaning in that direction. Their sleeps are getting longer, their playtime has decreased noticeably, and with nothing much to eat or to forage for, they appear to be headed toward hibernation.