Yearlings in Enclosure #4

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The two Louisiana yearlings and the South Carolina yearling are showing us what hibernation is like for southern bears. They sleep about 20 hours a day but are also up and foraging.

The three yearlings forage for peanuts in the area where they are thrown.
They seem to enjoy running through the culverts, but not denning in them.
Sometimes they stay up very late, foraging.
Beignet checks the culvert but doesn’t go inside.
Her brother waits nearby, with his eyes glowing from the light in the camera.

The three bears finally went to bed (at Jessamine’s). It was close to midnight.

The next morning, all of them were getting up at 9:00 and were ready to start the day foraging.

From what the wildlife officers in LA and SC tell us, this is a normal “hibernation” for their bears. A different pattern than what we expected, and what bears do in areas that are further north, where bears may hibernate for 5-6 months without leaving the den.