Polish bears waiting for ‘bitter cold’
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
16.12.2015 11:50
The brown bears are still active in the Bieszczady and Beskidy mountains and awaiting “bitter cold to encourage them to hibernate”, a spokesman for the State Forests National Forest Holding in Krosno, in southern Poland, said.
A brown bear. Photo: Flickr.com/Thomas Keller
“Winter hibernation will only begin after half a metre of snow falls and thermometers show temperatures of 10 degrees [Celsius] below zero,” the forest agency’s representative said.
The temperature is equivalent to around 14 degrees Fahrenheit.
In recent days there have been fresh prints in the forests and “even mother bears wandering around with their cubs in the evenings,” Marszałek added.
Despite this, northern-European birds have already migrated to winter near the man-made reservoir in Myczkowce, in the same Subcarpathian region.
The artificial lake in Myczkowce has a higher-than-average temperature due to water run-off from the Solina Dam, and rarely freezes.
The Subcarpathian region is home to 90 percent of Poland’s brown bears, and a variety of birds including the common goldeneyes, mute swans and cormorants. (ua/rg)
Source: PAP