Nature

Brown Bear Strolls Across Wintry Alaskan Glacier As Hibernation Season Approaches

This is the moment a brown bear strolls across a snow-covered Alaskan landscape in front of an eight-mile-long glacier as hibernation season approaches.

The wintry scene was filmed in the Glacier Bay National Park in the US state of Alaska on 12th October.

The Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve said the bear was spotted walking across the bleak landscape from a cruise ship, and announced “winter has arrived”.

A brown bear walks across snow-covered land strewn with icebergs in front of Lamplugh Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska in the United States on the 12th of October 2021. (@GlacierBayNationalPark/Clipzilla)

In the footage, the brown bear (Ursus arctos) is seen walking across a snow-covered terrain in front of Lamplugh Glacier.

The Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve shared the video on social media on 14th October with the message: “Winter has arrived in Glacier Bay! A brown bear was easily spotted walking amongst the icebergs and snow covered terrain in front of Lamplugh Glacier.

“At park hq in Bartlett Cove, we’ve yet to see a snowflake, but only 50 miles north in glacier country, snow and ice abound!”

A brown bear walks across snow-covered land strewn with icebergs in front of Lamplugh Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska in the United States on the 12th of October 2021. (@GlacierBayNationalPark/Clipzilla)

The National Park added that “heavy snow distorts the distant bear as it walks from left to right through the scene” after walking across “snow-covered land strewn with icebergs in front of Lamplugh Glacier”.

Brown bears hibernate between October and December. They typically dig a den that they may used for a number of consecutive years. They also hibernate in natural caves or rock fissures.

For a comfortable wintry rest, the bears will cushion their dens with items such as moss, grass, leaves, and ferns as the cold weather sets in.

A brown bear walks across snow-covered land strewn with icebergs in front of Lamplugh Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska in the United States on the 12th of October 2021. (@GlacierBayNationalPark/Clipzilla)

The US National Park Service says on its website: “Most brown bears spend the winter hibernating in dens to avoid the cold weather and lack of abundant food sources. During their winter slumber, bears’ bodies drop in body temperature, pulse rate, and respiration. Their bodies use the fat they stored in the summer as energy.

“Brown bears in the coldest parts of Alaska hibernate through the winter. Hibernation can last from five to eight months. Most bears hibernate, but bears in warmer areas, like Kodiak Island off Kenai Fjords National Park, may remain active throughout winter.

“During the winter denning period, pregnant Alaskan brown bears give birth. Like the Yellowstone grizzly, Alaskan brown bear cubs spend the rest of winter nursing and gaining weight to prepare to leave the den in the spring. Bears emerge from their dens in April or May.”

A brown bear walks across snow-covered land strewn with icebergs in front of Lamplugh Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska in the United States on the 12th of October 2021. (@GlacierBayNationalPark/Clipzilla)

Lamplugh Glacier, located in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, is eight miles long and leads north to the Johns Hopkins Inlet, 1.4 miles west of Ptarmigan Creek.

On 28th June 2016, a 1,200-metre mountainside collapsed on Lamplugh Glacier, causing a huge landslide that dropped around 120,000,000 metric tons of rock and debris on the glacier. The landslide also left a nine-kilometre-long debris field on the surface.

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