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n outDooRs New Life Under the Snow n BY gRegg losInsKI Many people in Idaho Falls see winter and early spring as a cold and barren time of the year, where the only visible wildlife are the fox squirrels terror- izing everyone’s backyard bird feeders or the stoic Canada geese that appear to be frozen to the falls in the center of town, but in the hills around town, buried under a protective blanket of snow, an incredible is occurring. As the snows recede and snow machines are placed up on blocks, the wonders of nature are ready to emerge their dens! The hills and mountains around Idaho Falls have always remained home to the black bear (Ursus americanus), and now they are slowly seeing the return of the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), and both bruins share some incredible reproductive secrets. When it comes to bears, lots of what we think we know, really isn’t so. Firstly, the long winter sleep that our bears are now preparing to leave really isn’t true hibernation. Bears are basically just very sound nappers! They really don’t slow their heart beats or lower their body tem- peratures like other true hibernators. Bears can easily wake up and check things out at any time during the winter. They may enjoy a quick snack or drink, but one thing they won’t do is need to use the bathroom, so at least for the winter, there is one thing that bears don’t do in the woods. The key to this evacuation lockdown is that bear’s bodies are able to reabsorb the waste products back into their bodies with any ill effects. One of the other neat adaptations that bears have is that while springtime may turn their thoughts to love, just like humans, the results of their intimate inter- actions do not immediately take hold. The mating may occur in late spring, but beyond a few cell divisions, the actual develop- 98 Idaho Falls MagazIne maRCh/apRIl 2011 MORE THAN HE CAN BEAR. This black bear cub (albeit a fair shade of brown) had a rather rude midwinter wake-up call when he was discovered in a row of haystacks near Arco. He was quickly sent to a bear-rescue operation in western Idaho. ment does not begin until late fall, once the female is in the den. Once tucked in for the winter, her body runs a self-check to make sure she has enough fat stored away to provide for herself and to create a new cub. If she is too lean, then the fertilized egg will not implant and she will try again next year. If she is healthy, then implanta- tion will occur and by mid-January a cub will be born. Another surprise for many people is that while bears can end up weighing hundreds of pounds as adults, in reality they start off much smaller than the average human baby. Bear cubs are only a pound at most at birth, while humans average about seven pounds. Bears have developed a wonderful sense of timing to help prevent conflicts, based exactly opposite of the theory behind all the roundabouts that are popping up around Idaho Falls. Rather than have multiple objects try to share the same space at the same time, like our traffic engineers dream is possible, females with cubs enter the den first and emerge nearly a month later than the males who den separately. This gives the hungry males who may have lost nearly half their mass a chance to gorge themselves. So if you are strolling in the woods early this spring and see a lone bear, chances are good that it’s a male looking to make up the fat lost. Mom and new cubs will come out once the males have satiated their appe- tites on winter-killed animal carcasses and emerging vegetation, like glacier lilies. For the less adventurous there are mul- tiple controlled bear viewing options within a short drive of Idaho Falls. For those will- ing to hit the hills, the time is right to see all the incredible things that are emerging from the burdensome, but necessary snows of winter. IF