A staggering lack of snowfall and multiple days where temperatures were only as cold as the mid to low 30s to 40s all combined to make my new home of Anchorage feel more like Tennessee, where I grew up. Throughout Alaska, temperatures were 5 to10 degrees Fahrenheit above normal since December and worldwide, January 2025 was 2.39 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average for global surface temperature.
In fact, this years’ Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska was forced to abandon its planned course because sections were so bare that mushers and race planners determined them to be un-traversable by dog sled. The first time in the Iditarod’s history that the race was moved due to poor trail conditions was in 2017. This year marks the fourth time.
The warming temperatures do more than disrupt annual events, they increase wildfire risk in the summer, disrupt growing seasons and challenge human-wildlife coexistence. The latter arises when changing climate alters resource availability for people and wildlife, effecting when, where and how people and wildlife interact with one another.
Human-bear coexistence, especially in Alaska, for example, is thought of as a seasonal practice. But what happens when the lines between “seasons” becomes blurred? Read on to learn how hibernation cycles for bears may be impacted and what you can do to be best prepared to successfully coexist.
A Bear’s Natural Cycle
Perhaps the number one thing people know about bears is they hibernate. While not entirely accurate — brown and American black bears actually enter a similar state, known as torpor — both hibernation and torpor are adaptations that allow animals to survive periods of extreme weather and reduced food availability. During their winter denning period, bears do not eat, drink or eliminate bodily waste. The energy necessary to support the remaining essential bodily functions comes from fat reserves the bears build up during the spring, summer and fall.
In the late fall or early winter, bears enter a predenning period where they gradually become less active before entering their dens. Predenning usually lasts from one to two weeks but can go on for more than a month.
Weather — like snowfall and snow depth — temperature and food availability, which is considered the most influential factor, will drive a bear to enter its den. This is why bears in areas with access to anthropogenic foods may significantly delay or forgo torpor altogether.
Once bears are asleep, the overall duration of the denning period and eventual exit from their dens is primarily influenced by temperature. Ideally, warming temperatures will coincide with a return of natural foods, meaning bears can wake to a landscape that is once again capable of supporting their dietary needs.
It’s a pretty good system for bears, but this winter’s warmer than average temperatures caused some bears across the state to wake in the middle of the winter.
An Early Wake-up Call
Many of the bears that awoke early this winter likely made a quick return to their dens, but some had a walkabout on the trails and around nearby neighborhoods searching for food.
In the winter, however, most people’s strategies to coexist with bears lie dormant with the sleeping animal until the spring. Usually this is fine, but the unpredictable winters are causing people to encounter bears at the time of year when they are the least prepared for an interaction.
Being prepared to encounter a bear is the most effective way of preventing negative outcomes. Having bear spray easily accessible and a mental plan of how to navigate a bear encounter puts you in the best position to have a safe and positive interaction, should you meet a bear on the trail. Additionally, protecting bear attractants with electric fencing or bear-resistant containers also helps minimize the risk of conflict with bears around your home or in the backcountry.
But in the winter, bear safety practices are powered down: the bear spray is usually left at home where the electric fences are turned off and the garbage lids aren’t latched. This approach may not be able to continue as the climate continues to change and warm. Climate scientists expect warmer than average winters to continue to occur and increase in frequency. So, many people sharing the landscape with bears will have to adapt to the resulting alterations in bear behavior and recognize that human-bear coexistence is becoming a year-round practice.
Be Prepared for Bears
Spring is just around the corner! If you live in bear country, get ready to start seeing these furry neighbors on a more regular basis. Here are three easy ways you can prepare yourself, your home and your loved ones today:
- Put your bear spray by the door and with your keys. This can help you remember to grab it before you leave the house.
- Keep your trash inside. Bears will be following their noses and hungry bellies. Bringing the trash in and using bear-resistant cans when you put it out on the curb can help reduce the risk of a bear associating your home with an easy meal.
- Similar to securing your trash, installing an electric fence around your gardens, chicken coops or beehives can help prevent conflicts with bears over enticing potential food sources.
And remember, for some, these preparations should start earlier than normal or never stop at all.
Author
Isabel Grant
Isabel received her Master of Science in Conservation Medicine from the Cummings School of
Wildlife & Wild Places
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