The Zoo’s badger, Oscar, is 6 years old, and goes through hibernation.īecause the outdoor habitat isn’t designed to handle snow and ice, which could cause cave-ins, zookeepers prepare a winter box for him in the back area of the habitat. Zookeepers make sure the habitat is bedded down for the animals, adding extra straw for them to have throughout the winter.ĭuring torpor, the prairie dogs stay in their underground chambers they’ve constructed, each of which allows for various activities like sleeping, eating and excreting waste. The Zoo currently has six male prairie dogs, and these small mammals go through the semi-hibernation process called torpor. Throughout the winter, bears may wake up at sporadic times during the hibernation period. During the spring, the bears may experience “walking hibernation,” as they come out of hibernation. By November, they have transitioned to slowing down and mostly sleeping while in hibernation. Bears put on an additional 20% in body weight and their activity levels and metabolism decline. Zookeepers start changing diets for the grizzlies and brown bear around September 1, adding fish to their regular diet and all the extra calories they’ll need for added weight throughout the winter.

In the autumn, they begin a stage called hyperphagia, or an increase in their food intake, to prepare for hibernation. In the summer, bears take part in their normal activity. Animals that undergo torpor include birds and some mammals, including many marsupial species, and rodent species like mice and chipmunks. Torpor enables animals to survive periods of reduced food availability. Torpor is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually marked by a reduced body temperature and metabolic rate. In addition, the Zoo’s new prairie dog group goes into a semi-hibernation called torpor. All five bears begin hibernation around mid-November and wake up in mid-April. Bozeman outgrew his family group and now lives in the former Polar Bear habitat. Brown bear Boris lives in a separate habitat, not too far from the grizzlies. The Zoo is home to a badger, Oscar and four grizzly bears: mom, Ronnie, and her three male offspring, Bozeman, Chinook and Brian.

Which animals hibernate