People come from around the world to Brooks Lodge, in Alaska’s Katmai National Park, one of the country’s top bear viewing destinations.
In the Katmai region, things start to slow down as tourists leave for warmer locations and bears go into their dens for a long sleep.
Since bears don’t eat or move much during hibernation, except for a change of positions every so often, they need a warm den to curl up and conserve energy. The perfect places for a bear’s seasonal slumber are spots not much bigger than them, such as rock crevices or hollow trees.
Can You Wake a Bear Up from Hibernation?
The short answer is yes, but we don’t recommend it. Coming out of hibernation is usually a slow process, where they walk around for a bit while they reacclimate. If something forces them to wake up sooner, like a loud noise or anything that makes a bear feel like it’s in danger, they could immediately go into defense mode for themselves and their cubs. That’s not to say that they might not naturally wake up during hibernation, but that’s only to briefly shift positions. Bears don’t even wake up to go to the bathroom. They recycle their urine, converting it into protein. Their body physiologically changes during hibernation so its kidneys can process nitrogen waste without damaging organs or poisoning themselves.