An amusing video has captured Boo, a 22-year-old grizzly bear, popping his head out through the snow and emerging from his winter slumber.
On March 10, 2024, when the infamous grizzly sensed warmer temperatures were on the rise, he decided to wake up to bask in some sunshine, 32-year-old Cat Cowan said, manager of Kicking Horse Grizzly Bear Refuge (KHBR) at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, Canada.
Boo, who was born in the winter of 2002, arrived at his current home in Kicking Horse Mountain Resort on July 8th, 2003, with his sibling, Cari.
The young cubs’ mother had been shot by a poacher on the highway up in the Cariboo area leaving them defenseless and with a very low chance of survival.
The cubs were fortunate to be saved. They spent a year at Grouse Mountain Endangered Species Refuge, a facility in North Vancouver while KHGBR was being created for them.
“The idea of the KHGBR was to create a large enough enclosure that would mimic a natural setting – having multi-ecosystems and diverse terrain and food sources – in order to give the cubs a chance to learn through trial and error as well as giving us a look into what is instinctual behavior for grizzly bears,” Ms. Cowan told The Epoch Times. “Their names are a homage to where they were originally from.”
Unfortunately, Cari passed away as a cub. Although his life was cut short, he and his brother were able to save other bears from danger.
'A Gradual Process’
Through the late fall, Boo slows down significantly. It’s not long before he begins to “hibernate.” This past season, he headed into his den in mid-December. The den is outfitted with a small camera, through which the staff at KHGRR can monitor Boo.Ms. Cowan explained that Boo, as a bear, does not actually “hibernate” in the true sense of the word. Bears’ metabolic response differs from that of other animals, and their body temperatures do not drop as low as true hibernators. They also do not produce a hibernation hormone.
“They aren’t necessarily fully out cold,” she said. “They will wake up in the den for certain periods of time.”
As the weather begins warming up, bears move more. They enter a state called “walking hibernation.” Ms. Cowan likened this state to that of a human who wakes up in the morning and spends extra time in bed before deciding to get up.
When Boo finally decides to leave his den, he may only stay outside for only an hour a day. During this period of time, he’s usually a little blind from the snow and light because he’s been in the den for a long time.
He slowly begins moving out more and more.
“It’s all a gradual process,” Ms. Cowan said.
Boo usually departs the den on sunny days and lounges around.
“He typically will lay right out in front of the den,” Ms. Cowan said.
As the days pass, he'll begin interacting more with the environment around him. However, he doesn’t leave the immediate area in front of his den for a long time.
Although Boo eats snow, he doesn’t drink anything for a while. As the days wear on, however, he makes his way to the creek to drink water. Before long, he is ready to eat regular food.
During the past year, bears in certain areas were displaying irregular dormancy behavior. Boo’s winter was similar. He'd been “up and down” from December to March. When it was finally time to venture out of the cave, Ms. Cowan didn’t have high expectations.
“We weren’t too surprised to see Boo poke his head out,” she said. “But, it was still always pretty fantastic to see him poke his head out.”
“We’ve gotten a huge response,” Ms. Cowan said. “A lot of people, I think it’s just such a unique thing to see.”
Boo is loved by fans across the world, but he’s not the only bear in the area.
“We’re right in a wildlife corridor,” Ms. Cowan said. “So we have lots of wild bears in the area. We have a really great population of reproducing female bears.”
Boo communicates and meets with other bears, but he also has a personal space that was set up specifically for him.
“You think of all the energy a bear in the wild, especially in the mountains, what they’re utilizing in a day to find food,” Ms. Cowan said. “And the big issue for bears in captivity ends up being they’re not using their muscles as they typically should.”
Boo’s caretakers encourage his foraging behavior by hiding food high up in the trees or burying it deep in the snow.
“That’s helping him kind of forage around, really smelling underneath that snowpack, ” Ms. Cowan said. “A bear’s sense of smell is phenomenal. It’s about seven times greater than a bloodhound.”
Boo is a sociable bear, Ms. Cowan said, but his personality has changed with age.
She said: “So it’s funny, the thing is, he’s slowing down a little bit more, he’s a bit more choosy about who he’s hanging out with and what his days look like. He makes sure to make time for himself when he needs it. He enjoys relaxing and sunbathing.”
Kicking Horse offers private tours where visitors can meet Boo in person, one-on-one. The resort will be open to the public in May.
