Hibernation in bears : Relations with reproduction

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  • クマ類の冬眠 : 繁殖との関係
  • クマルイ ノ トウミン : ハンショク ト ノ カンケイ

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Abstract

Hibernation in bears is characterized by slight drop in body temperature, no periodic arousal, no muscle or bone regression, and insulin resistance. Males resume spermatogenesis during hibernation (February-March) and emerge from hibernation earlier than females. Females maintain delayed implantation after mating in early summer and implant embryos at the time of hibernation induction (late November-early December). Female bears then complete fetal development in about two months and give birth in the mid-hibernation period (late January to early February), followed by nurturing their neonates in the late hibernation period, when only the mother bear continues to hibernate but not neonates do. Unlike brown bears and black bears, only females of polar bears hibernate to give birth and nurture their young, but both male and female polar bears switch to a hibernation-like physiological state called "walking hibernation" from summer to autumn, when they get starvation.

Journal

  • 低温科学

    低温科学 81 173-180, 2023-03-20

    低温科学第81巻編集委員会

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