Brown bear Fomka and raccoons awakened from winter sleep in the Kazan Zoo

Brown bear Fomka and raccoons awakened from winter sleep in the Kazan Zoo

<p> (KZN.RU, March 21, Ksenia Shvetsova). Predatory inhabitants of the Kazan Zoo have awakened from winter sleep: a 16-year-old brown bear named Fomka and 2 raccoons. </p> <p> Fomka fell asleep in early November. In February, the bear woke up to quench his thirst. The zoo staff offered him a choice of ice and snow. This is a normal phenomenon. According to experts, in wild nature, bears also wake up to drink. In early February, the bear began to rise more often, and in early March, he finally woke up. After a long sleep, the bear was fed only plant food, but today he has already switched to full nutrition. </p> <p> In addition to Fomka, 2 more brown bears live in the Zoo: the 39-year-old Kuchum and the 13-year-old mother bear Masha. They did not fall asleep this year. Svetlana Kurbashkina, the head of the Predatory section of the Kazan Zoo, explained that this happens quite often. “There are behavioral features, they are not related to the weather. Just some individuals are more active, restless, they do not fall asleep. This is a frequent case for zoos”, she explained. </p> <p> Calling predators’ sleep a hibernation is not quite right, it is more correct of winter sleep, added Svetlana Kurbashkina. According to her, hibernation is a kind of state when all life cycles in the animal's body are suspended, slowed down. “Our animals do not fall asleep so tightly. They react to the facts of anxiety, their body temperature falls down not so much. It’s like the bears-rods in the wild, they also wake up, react to the environment”, explained the head of the Predatory section. For example, raccoons fell in sound sleep only during severe frosts. Otherwise, the animals wake up every day to eat. </p> <p> Today all the animals that have awakened from their winter sleep are vigorous and feeling good, said S. Kurbashkina. </p> <p> The polar bear named Terpy, who settled in the Kazan Zoo in January, also in a good state of health. According to S. Kurbashkina, he quickly adapted to the new conditions of life, got used to the employees of the zoo who take care of him, he plays often. Now he does not live in a separate aviary, but with the female bear Malyshka. </p>

2019-03-21T10:53:48+0300