Yellowstone in winter is very difficult for most of the animals but not for the otter. He entertains like he doesn't have a care in the world!

Yellowstone in winter is hard on the animals

McAveler, I hear that bears hibernate in winter. Do you think the bear that waved goodbye to us last summer in Yellowstone is hibernating now?

Bears hibernate when food is scarce and the snows make it hard to move around outside.

But Chico Chihuahua told me that grizzly bears don’t really, truly hibernate during the wintertime, like other bears do.

If an animal is truly hibernating and somehow gets disturbed, it will take hours for it to really wake up because its body temperature goes down to just a few degrees above freezing.

Grizzly bears do hole up in a den for the winter and their heart rate, body temperature and breathing rate do go a little lower, but not enough to be considered true hibernation.

Grizzly bears just enter into a “sleeping state”, not a state of true hibernation.

The bears begin getting sleepy as early as October and some may stay in the den until as late as early May, depending on when their food becomes available again where they live.

During the sleeping state, remain relatively alert and are easily aroused.

That’s OK, says Mimi, I wasn’t planning on disturbing a sleeping grizzly bear anyway. I know how cross Chico gets sometimes when he’s napping on the sofa in front of the TV under his and you wake him up.

I can only imagine how cross a grizzly bear could be if we woke him up from a sound sleep!

Other animals aren’t quite so lucky as the bears, they have to stay outside in the freezing cold, wind, and snow.

uses the huge muscles that attach to the big hump on his back to power his huge head, like a snowplow, through the fallen snow in search of buried grasses to eat during the winter months.

But if the snow gets too deep, finding grass becomes very tiring. So, the buffalo move onto the warmer hydrothermal spots along the two rivers, the Firehole and Madison rivers.

Less snow can collect on this warmer ground and some plants can grow there even in winter.

These hydrothermal areas keep stretches of the rivers and lakes ice free, making it possible for a small flock of to actually live here year round.

Before 1994, there weren't any wolves left in were reintroduced in 1995 and 1996.

Now there are at least 124 of their descendents living in the Greater Yellowstone Area.

Winter weakens the old and the sick Yellowstone animals, making it easier for the wolves to prey on them.

This actually is nature's way of keeping the herds of large animals like the buffalo, elk, and deer healthy.

McAveler, isn't there any animal that just loves Yellowstone in winter, asked Mimi?

Well, actually Mimi, there is. One animal loves the winter and provides great entertainment while sliding down snowbanks on his belly or ice fishing.

It’s the river otter. He is a cousin of the weasel and has thick fur, which insulates him from Yellowstone in winter.

down snowbanks or ride waterfalls into deep pools of water, as if they didn’t have a care in the world. As long as an otter is within sliding distance of the water, he’s safe.

Due to Yellowstone's thermal pools, caused by the area’s proximity to the molten rock underneath the surface of the earth, otters have access to fish, the staple of their diet, throughout the winter.

That keeps them fat and happy! In Yellowstone’s frigid rivers, the otter is king.

On land, the wolves rule Yellowstone in winter.

Mr. bear? Well, he just takes a nap!

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