Bears hibernate to deal with the lack of food in winter, not because of the cold," Dave Wattles, a black bear and furbearer biologist with Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife ...

Oxygen consumption, which is a measure of metabolic rate, (top) and body temperature (bottom) of three black bears during and after hibernation. During hibernation (left side of dashed line ...

During hibernation the heart slows with as much as 20 seconds between beats. Each time the bear takes a breath, about 1-2 times per minute, the heart beats more rapidly.