In winter, the sanctuary bears can be counted on fingers. Of the 79 bears, about 50 have yawned before withdrawing—politely—into their dens for the winter’s sleep. This time we won’t talk about them, but about the others—the ones who don’t obey the rules of hibernation. About 20 bears “swim against the stream,” remaining in a waking state each day. Although the laws of nature condemn bears to sleep until the arrival of spring, it’s natural to rebel against them in a sanctuary like Libearty, where food is thrown over the fence regardless of season. Before their arrival, the bears lived in rusty cages where they had no shelter—not even cob pillows to lay their heads on. So some of them might have never slept a winter in their lives.
These ”rebel” bears have discovered that they can have fun in the winter, too—they climb trees and “skate” on ice. However, the most curious of all their occupations is making trails in the snow. Much as a pig looks for worms in the mud, the king of the forests burrows his head through the generous layer of snow and sniffs “the ins and outs.” Then his muzzle reappears on the surface, like a diver emerged from the depths of the ocean, and he puffs. The search will be repeated until the bear loses interest or finds that his nose is frozen.
Why? It’s hard to say, but experts have two theories: one is that it’s ”enrichment,” satisfying the bears’ constant need to find something to do to alleviate boredom. And the second one recalls the pig’s nose: they seek the leftovers that Mother Nature has stored in the refrigerator.
