Sleeping Giants Of The Coast

Every autumn in British Columbia’s mountains and coastal rainforests, the province’s most famous residents prepare for a months-long sleepover – and it’s nothing like a lazy Sunday nap. Black bears, grizzly bears and the rare Kermode (spirit) bear go through remarkable biological gymnastics to survive winter without eating, drinking, urinating or defecating. Yes – it’s a little wild, and that’s why we love them.

Why Bears Hibernate In BC

British Columbia is bear country. With an estimated 150,000 black bears, about 15,000 grizzlies and the iconic white-furred spirit bears of the Great Bear Rainforest, winter survival isn’t optional – it’s strategy.

 

Food disappears as snow piles up, so instead of migrating south like birds or staying active like wolves, bears choose door #3: turning their bodies into nature’s most efficient survival machines.

 

The Science Of Going To Sleep… Sort Of

Contrary to the cartoons, bears don’t fall into a coma. They enter torpor, a specialized form of hibernation.

 

Here’s what happens inside the den:

Heart rate: Drops from about 50 beats/minute to 8-10

Breathing: Slows to one breath every 45 seconds

Body temperature: Only drops a few degrees (unlike true hibernators)

Metabolism: Reduces by up to 70 per cent

Muscle loss: Basically none – bears wake up fit, not floppy

 

The most amazing trick? Bears recycle waste. Their bodies convert urea into protein, preventing muscle loss and dangerous toxin buildup. NASA even studies this phenomenon to help astronauts maintain muscle during long space missions.

 

The Fall Frenzy: A Month-Long Buffet

Before denning, bears enter hyperphagia – a fancy word meaning eat everything that isn’t nailed down.

 

In BC, fall foods include:

• Berries (salmonberries, huckleberries, elderberries)
• Salmon (especially for coastal bears – hello, Great Bear Rainforest!)
• Roots and tubers
• Nuts
• Insect larvae

 

A grizzly can consume 20,000 calories per day and gain hundreds of pounds in preparation. Basically, it’s like Thanksgiving every day – but with more berries and fewer casseroles.

Prime Real Estate: Bear Dens

Bears in BC choose a variety of den types, depending on landscape:

• Hollow trees (yes – sometimes the classic cartoon tree is real)
• Root systems of giant cedars or spruce
• Dugouts on steep north-facing slopes
• Under rocks or fallen logs
• Alpine dens in snow-insulated burrows (common for grizzlies)

 

Mother bears add an extra twist – they give birth while hibernating. Tiny hairless cubs (about the size of a soda can!) arrive in January or February, and mom nurses them while still fasting. By spring, they’re fuzzy, feisty and ready to explore.

 

Spring Wake-Up Call

When spring arrives in BC’s interior and coastal valleys, bears emerge groggy and hungry. The diet starts light:

• Fresh shoots and grasses
• Horsetails and sedges
• Roots and bulbs
• Winter-killed ungulates

 

They need time to rebuild strength before salmon return, berries ripen and summer meals crank up.

 

BC Bear Fun Facts

• Spirit bears are genetically unique black bears – not albinos – with cream-white fur.
• Mothers stay with cubs for 1.5-2.5 years, depending on species.
• Coastal bears can gain more weight than interior bears thanks to salmon.
• Bears will occasionally wake briefly in winter to shift or stretch – but they save energy by staying put.

 

How You Can Help Bears Stay Safe

As winter approaches and as they re-emerge in spring:

• Keep garbage locked up and attractants secured
• Remove bird feeders in bear-active seasons
• Carry bear spray and make noise when hiking
• Give bears space – especially sows with cubs

 

Wildlife managers always say, “A fed bear is a dead bear.” Preventing habituation protects these iconic animals year-round.

 

The Marvel Of BC’s Sleeping Giants

Bear hibernation is one of nature’s greatest survival stories – a blend of biology, instinct and adaptation shaped by British Columbia’s rugged landscapes. Each winter, while we shovel snow and sip hot chocolate, bears are quietly performing feats of metabolic magic in cozy dens across the province.

 

From the coastal rainforests to the alpine tundra, BC’s bears remind us that sometimes the most powerful thing you can do… is rest.