Bears unable to hibernate as winter warms

Camera traps used in the wildlife monitoring and research studies of Bartın University have captured images of bears that could not hibernate due to the weather conditions above the seasonal norms in the northern province's Ulus district.

Nuri Özkazanç and his team from the Forest Engineering Department of the university have been conducting studies on the identification of mammalian wild animals with camera traps.

The team aims to determine population sizes and behavioral characteristics by identifying wild species distributed in different areas and ecosystems.

Camera traps recently captured images of a pair of roe deer, a wildcat, a fox and a brown bear.

The appearance of bears, which should be hibernating under normal conditions, has raised concerns.

In the images, these wildlife creatures were seen continuing their search for food instead of hibernating.

Experts stated that as the temperatures are above the seasonal norms, it has disturbed the hibernation patterns of the animals in the region.

Similarly, Mustafa Aslan, a nature photographer in the eastern province of Sivas, recently stated that bears have not hibernated "as the region has not received snowfall."

"I came across a bear while I was looking for wild goats. I did not expect to see the bear during this season. Currently, they actively continue to roam in nature. The fact that there has been no snowfall has adversely affected the wild animals. The bears are continuing to feed as the snow is not covering the surface at the moment and are not hibernating," Aslan explained.