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Buffy's Corner / Guarding Buffy |
Buffy preparing for hibernation
| Scientific Name: |
Ursus americanus |
| Hibernation: |
Prior to hibernation bears add four inches of fat, gaining two to three pounds a day. They also...
- do not eat
- do not urinate
- do not defecate
- curl up to conserve heat
- change position in den
- may be aroused and attack an intruder
- slough paw pads
- lose weight (15% to 30%)
- metabolism slows
- digestive organs and kidneys shut down almost completely
- Uses 4000 calories/day from their fat reserve
- Poisonous wastes, by-products broken down
- Heart rate 20 to 30 beats per minute (normal 70/min) This is with Buffy.
- Normal body temperature is over 100, in hibernation it drops only a few degrees.
- Some southern populations do not hibernate during mild winters, bears of Louisiana, Florida, and Arizona sleep only a few days at a time in a den.
- Breathing: 6-10 respirations per minute
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| Diet: |
Frogs, fish, ants, invertebrates, small vertebrates, crayfish, grubs, carcasses, bees, eggs, human garbage, berries, mushrooms, grasses, fruits, nuts, seeds, honey, herbs, cambium (underbark), acorns, melons, vegetables. |
| Range: |
3.6 to 108 square miles |
| Speed: |
25-30 mph |
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