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--Boundary_(ID_IiOmjmcs13To2nN5jhMveg) Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT > Subject: HIBERNATION -- Long winter puts bears 'behind schedule' -- > Globe and Mail, Wed., April 9, 2008 > > Globe and Mail, Wed., April 9, 2008 > > HIBERNATION > Long winter puts bears 'behind schedule' > > NELSON WYATT > The Canadian Press > April 9, 2008 > > MONTREAL -- It looks like the bears in Ontario and Quebec think the > groundhogs got it all wrong. > > An early spring was forecast when the groundhogs emerged on Feb. 2, > but most eastern bruins are still enjoying their long winter sleep. > > Since Wiarton Willy, Ontario's fabled weather-predicting rodent, > failed to see his shadow back in February, more snow has blanketed > Eastern Canada. It has only recently started to disappear. > > The lengthy winter is being cited as the reason bears have chosen > to roll over and snooze for a couple more weeks, both in the > wilderness and at a Montreal zoo. > > "They're a little behind schedule," says Jonathan Luce, curator of > mammals and birds at the Montreal Ecomuseum. > > "It's interesting. It's not scary in any way, but it's different." > > Bears in Ontario haven't shown their faces much, either. > > Mr. Luce said zoo bears, like their wild counterparts, take a > wakeup call from the weather to end their annual hibernation. > > The bears usually get up around March 25, give or take a few days. > > A spokeswoman at the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources said > yesterday that most of the bears in that province also "will be > getting up later." > > "Our understanding is that the late snow melt over much of Ontario > will delay the bears emerging from their dens," said Jolanta Kowalski. > > But Alberta bears already seem to be up and around. Some have been > seen ambling around Banff National Park, and tracks have been > reported near Canmore. > > Bears don't go into a deep sleep like rodents, who are out like > lights during the winter. > > "In the middle of winter, if you get two or three nice days in a > row, you could have bears walking around," Mr. Luce says. > > "They're not active looking for food since their food sources are > virtually impossible to find. A lot of their diet is based on > berries and vegetation." > > The bears pig out in the summer and live off their fat in the > winter. They begin to slow down in the fall and nod off in December. > > A black bear can go for 100 days without drinking, eating, > exercising or doing much else. > > Light and warmer temperatures usually wake the bears. > > "This year, the beginning of spring was colder than usual so I > think temperature has just pushed them back, despite the longer > days," Mr. Luce said. > > Other creatures such as raccoons, amphibians and reptiles seem to > be waking up on schedule. > > "They're more food-motivated," Mr. Luce said. > > Bears in the wild that have managed to rouse themselves likely woke > up because they are peckish. > > "If they weren't quite as well prepared, if they're a little bit > more hungry, then they're probably going to be getting up earlier > so they can start looking for food," Mr. Luce said. > > The Ecomuseum's three female bears - which each weigh around 300 > pounds - have been yawning and showing other signs of life in the > past few days. Mr. Luce says they may amble out of their dens on > the weekend. > > "That kind of gets decided by them," he said. --Boundary_(ID_IiOmjmcs13To2nN5jhMveg) Content-type: text/html; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable <HTML><BODY style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; = -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><BR><DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BLOCKQUOTE type=3D"cite"><DIV = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><FONT face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" color=3D"#000000" = style=3D"font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><B>Subject: = </B></FONT><FONT face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px = Helvetica"><B>HIBERNATION -- Long winter puts bears 'behind schedule' -- = Globe and Mail, Wed., April 9, 2008</B></FONT></DIV><DIV = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV> Globe and Mail, Wed., = April 9, 2008<DIV><BR class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" color=3D"#666666" = face=3D"Verdana" size=3D"2"><SPAN class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"font-size: 10px;"><B>HIBERNATION</B></SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Trebuchet = MS" size=3D"7"><SPAN class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: = 28.8px; letter-spacing: -1px;"><B>Long winter puts bears 'behind = schedule'</B></SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT = class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Trebuchet MS" size=3D"7"><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: 28.8px; letter-spacing: = -1px;"><B><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></B></SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" = face=3D"Verdana"><B>NELSON WYATT</B></FONT></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top:= 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT = class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Verdana">The Canadian = Press</FONT></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" = face=3D"Verdana">April 9, 2008</FONT></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: = 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT = class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Verdana"><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></FONT></DIV><P style=3D"margin-top: = 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT = class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Verdana">MONTREAL -- It looks like = the bears in Ontario and Quebec think the groundhogs got it all = wrong.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" = face=3D"Verdana">An early spring was forecast when the groundhogs = emerged on Feb. 2, but most eastern bruins are still enjoying their long = winter sleep.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" = face=3D"Verdana">Since Wiarton Willy, Ontario's fabled = weather-predicting rodent, failed to see his shadow back in February, = more snow has blanketed Eastern Canada. It has only recently started to = disappear.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" = face=3D"Verdana">The lengthy winter is being cited as the reason bears = have chosen to roll over and snooze for a couple more weeks, both in the = wilderness and at a Montreal zoo.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT = class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Verdana">"They're a little behind = schedule," says Jonathan Luce, curator of mammals and birds at the = Montreal Ecomuseum.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: = 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT = class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Verdana">"It's interesting. It's not = scary in any way, but it's different."</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: = 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT = class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Verdana">Bears in Ontario haven't = shown their faces much, either.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT = class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Verdana">Mr. Luce said zoo bears, = like their wild counterparts, take a wakeup call from the weather to end = their annual hibernation.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT = class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Verdana">The bears usually get up = around March 25, give or take a few days.</FONT></P><P = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; = margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Verdana">A = spokeswoman at the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources said yesterday = that most of the bears in that province also "will be getting up = later."</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" = face=3D"Verdana">"Our understanding is that the late snow melt over much = of Ontario will delay the bears emerging from their dens," said Jolanta = Kowalski.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" = face=3D"Verdana">But Alberta bears already seem to be up and around. = Some have been seen ambling around Banff National Park, and tracks have = been reported near Canmore.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT = class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Verdana">Bears don't go into a deep = sleep like rodents, who are out like lights during the = winter.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" = face=3D"Verdana">"In the middle of winter, if you get two or three nice = days in a row, you could have bears walking around," Mr. Luce = says.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" = face=3D"Verdana">"They're not active looking for food since their food = sources are virtually impossible to find. A lot of their diet is based = on berries and vegetation."</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT = class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Verdana">The bears pig out in the = summer and live off their fat in the winter. They begin to slow down in = the fall and nod off in December.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT = class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Verdana">A black bear can go for 100 = days without drinking, eating, exercising or doing much = else.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" = face=3D"Verdana">Light and warmer temperatures usually wake the = bears.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" = face=3D"Verdana">"This year, the beginning of spring was colder than = usual so I think temperature has just pushed them back, despite the = longer days," Mr. Luce said.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT = class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Verdana">Other creatures such as = raccoons, amphibians and reptiles seem to be waking up on = schedule.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" = face=3D"Verdana">"They're more food-motivated," Mr. Luce = said.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" = face=3D"Verdana">Bears in the wild that have managed to rouse themselves = likely woke up because they are peckish.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top:= 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT = class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Verdana">"If they weren't quite as = well prepared, if they're a little bit more hungry, then they're = probably going to be getting up earlier so they can start looking for = food," Mr. Luce said.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT = class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Verdana">The Ecomuseum's three female = bears - which each weigh around 300 pounds - have been yawning and = showing other signs of life in the past few days. Mr. Luce says they may = amble out of their dens on the weekend.</FONT></P><P style=3D"margin-top: = 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT = class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Verdana">"That kind of gets decided = by them," he said.</FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR></BODY></HTML>= --Boundary_(ID_IiOmjmcs13To2nN5jhMveg)--
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