What was once a rare sight — a bear meander outside its den before springtime — has become increasingly common , thanks to mood change . AsThe New York Timesreports , warm temperature are waking American black bear from hibernation earlier than ever , and in some cases , keep them from settling down for the wintertime in the first place .
Hibernation is a vital part of the opprobrious bear ’s life wheel . When awake , a bear must consume at least11 to 18pounds of intellectual nourishment per mean solar day to uphold a sound body weight . pull back for the winter give up it to survive the food scarcity that follow with the cold months .
But as climate change promotes certain uttermost conditions practice in the westerly U.S. , the region ’s black bear population has commence to dissemble differently . Last year the Pine Nut Mountains in Nevada saw remarkably mellow levels of snow , and the redundant moisture produced an abundant pine freak crop . This retiring wintertime , snow in the orbit hit dear - book lows , leaving the pine nuts exposed on the ground for a longer period . The prolonged access to intellectual nourishment in the area meant some bear started hibernating later or just never got around to it .
Many of the bear that did eventually crawl into their lair were woken up ahead of schedule this class . According toa 2017 study , for every 1 ° hundred that minimal winter temperatures rise , bears hibernate six days fewer . In January 2018 , temperature in the Pine Nut Mountains reached 5.4 ° C above the twentieth - C norm for the region .
Some years bears emerge from hibernation during droughts , which are exacerbated by climate alteration , and food is grueling to make out by . When that ’s the lawsuit , bear may end up on secret property , raiding people ’s scum cans and bird self-feeder and sometimes let out into their habitation . black bear attacks on humansaren’t common : The more probable scenario is that the so - called problem bear will be euthanized . Bear management chemical group will often try other strategies , like capture and exit and aversive conditioning , before repair to this option . nevertheless , dozens of bearsare euthanized by states each yr .
Black bears are n’t the only ursine specie being storm to adapt to global warming . In the Arctic , polar bearsare fall behind the ocean ice they need to run marine mammals , and many of them are moving onto land in hunt of quarry . Climate alteration is force both metal money of bear toward human - populated territory , which mean conflict between the bear and citizenry will only increase from here .
[ h / tThe New York Times ]
