BIOL 1902 Lecture 5: October 10 - Lecture 5.docx
Document Summary
Low heart rate (8 bpm), high temperature (>30 deg c), easily aroused (awoken) in a den (just a fallen tree, nothing special) Not true hibernation, in subzero temperatures black bears go dormant. Bear nest refers to evidence of a bear feeding in a tree prior to dormancy. They need to fatten up before the winter: beechnuts very full of fats, important for insulation, they visit trees with a lot of fruits, but the breech trees are their favourite. When they wake up in the early spring, they graze because there is no food supply. Bears do not urinate or defecate during winter dormancy unusual, but they are able to recycle it without any problem. During the fall, when they go into their dormant stage, they form a plug (naturally) in their rectum and that means in spring that they haven"t gone in a number of months. This plug is called a tappen it keeps them from fouling the winter den.
