Tired bear flops down in the snow during hibernation in Yellowstone, video shows

An exhausted bear’s behavior in Yellowstone National Park is very relatable in a video posted Wednesday by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Winter is hibernation season for bears in Yellowstone. During that time, bears will wake up and leave their dens occasionally, but they don’t eat, drink, defecate or urinate, according to the National Park Service.

They’re living off the fat they have stored from major weight gain in the fall before hibernating, the National Park Service said.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of the Interior posted a video taken by Trent Sizemore Photography that shows how exhausting it must be to be a bear in hibernation.

“I could watch this cutie all day,” one commenter said.

The bear starts to play with a block of snow before getting too tired to continue. It lays its head down on the ground until a bird wanders by.

The entire time, the bear keeps digging at and playing in the snow with little energy.

“It’s videos like this that make me forget that fluffy guy could tear off my face,” another commenter said.

While bears lose between 15% and 30% of their body weight during hibernation, they gain lean body mass, according to the Park Service.

The animals will stay in hibernation until the spring, according to the National Park Service.

“Bears emerge from their dens when temperatures warm up and food is available in the form of winterkilled ungulates or early spring vegetation,” the Park Service said. “Greater Yellowstone grizzly bears begin to emerge from their den in early February, and most bears have left their dens by early May.”

This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 10:52 AM with the headline "Tired bear flops down in the snow during hibernation in Yellowstone, video shows."