The Yellowstone Safari Company on Saturday shared heartwarming footage showing a sleepy black bear gathering material just outside its den before resuming its long winter nap.
“Have you ever seen a bear tuck themself in for their winter hibernation?” guide Grant T. Johnson asked via Instagram. (Footage posted below.)
Johnson explained that his group was “very lucky” to have encountered the bear Friday as it emerged to seek extra insulation material in the form of twigs and other debris.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DDE-_BCp3Yn/
The guide explained: “Bears aren’t true hibernators, in the most technical sense of the term, but rather enter a state of torpor, or extreme inactivity, in the winter. Still, it’s unusual to see them emerge from their dens at all once they tuck in during autumn.
“Sleep well, little buddy, and we’ll see you in the spring.”
According to Yellowstone National Park, most bears have entered their dens by mid-November, “although some males remain active through December before hibernating.”
Bears in the Greater Yellowstone area typically begin to emerge from their dens in early February, and most bears have left their dens by early May.
Male bears tend to abandon their dens much earlier than female bears with cubs.