INSCITIA:
Is it even possible to wake hibernating bears? Is not hibernation a deep, nearly catatonic, seasonal and hormonal "coma", which makes the bears totally and irreversibly unconscious? Or is it just a really long and sometimes fitful sleep? Do bears wake up naturally from time to time, or, as I recall from elementary school, do they load up for winter (lots of berries and a plug of pinecones) and then hole up in caves literally until winter breaks?
COGITATIO:
I am fairly certain the bears can be woken, if for no other reason than that lying for months as sleeping, vulnerable hunks of waiting meat for any non-hibernating predators probably weeds out that flaw. Then again, hibernation is from all I know, a profoundly deep and immobile lifecycle. What do I know? Ah, I'll sleep on it.
RESPONSUM:
2 comments:
I saw on the Discovery Channel something that relates to this. A bear had for some reason or another been rousted from mid-winter slumber, and was, also for reasons unknown, stumbling around outside its den. A mountain lion came upon it, and was sort of mock-attacking it. Basically, it made repeated half-hearted charges and sneak-attacks at the bear. The bear seemed very out of it, and only mildly interested in defending itself. Eventually the mountain lion left, and the bear went back inside. I'm not sure what any of it meant, other than that bears can be awakened from hibernation.
Forgot to sign my name on the above comment...
-Matt Paulk
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