According to the information released by the Wildlife Conservation Service of the Amur Region of Russia, although some brown bears in Siberia are ready to hibernate and accumulate the fat reserves needed for hibernation in advance, they are now unable to hibernate, they are in a state of "half-asleep", and brown bears in some areas even wander around and walk around in caves.
When it comes to hibernation, many of us immediately think of cold-blooded animals such as snakes, when the temperature drops, these cold-blooded animals will enter hibernation, do not eat or drink, and when the temperature rises, they will wake up and move out to feed. Brown bears living in the Arctic also have the Xi of hibernation, after all, the temperature in the Arctic is very low, the environment is very harsh, and it is difficult to have enough food to survive in winter.
These brown bears go into hibernation at the end of October or early November to March-April of the following year, and in order to have enough fat to survive the winter during hibernation, they accumulate the energy needed for hibernation in advance, need to stock up on about 50 kilograms of fat, and must eat 400-600 kilograms of berries and other food in the fall.
Although brown bears also hibernate, they are not quite the same as cold-blooded snakes, and even if they do, their metabolic rate does not drop very low, so if they find a dangerous situation, they can always wake up and respond.
Although it is now mid-December, it is winter in the northern hemisphere, and it stands to reason that these brown bears should have entered the hibernation period for a month, but some brown bears in Siberia cannot hibernate after hoarding fat for a year, and wander around in a daze all day. The reason they can't hibernate now is that the temperatures in the Arctic are warmer than they used to, so the brown bears can't "sleep".
According to a report by the Moscow Times, in the Russian Far East, there were unusually high temperatures in October and November this year, which may cause brown bears to delay their hibernation period, or it may be due to the humid climate, and on wet snow days, some melt snow may flow into the burrows of these brown bears, making them uncomfortable and unable to "sleep".
This can be dangerous for brown bears, especially cubs. Because they are relatively small, they don't have a lot of fat to store, and if they can't go into hibernation and wander around, this can cause them to use too much energy and not survive the winter. After all, in such a harsh environment, it is difficult for brown bears to forage for food, even if they do not hibernate.
Mammals are getting smaller
Not only are brown bears in the Arctic now "anomalous", but scientists have found that mammals are getting smaller after analyzing animal fossils about 1 million, 500,000 or 10,000 years old in sedimentary rocks. In the last 1.5 million years, the average weight of mammals has decreased by 98%.
In prehistory, the individual animals were generally relatively large, like dinosaurs, prehistoric pythons were very large, polar bears are now one of the largest terrestrial carnivores existing on the earth, adult male polar bears can weigh up to 400 kilograms, and a few male polar bears can weigh about 600 kilograms, but in the past 20 years, the size of male polar bears is not as large as before.
According to a workable study published in the academic journal Ecology Reports, scientists used drones to take pictures of whales to speculate on their weight, and found that the female southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) had a 23 percent drop in body condition, which could lead to a decline in its reproductive rate.
The Southern Right Whale, which is mainly found in and around Antarctica, is a large cetacean that can reach 15-16 meters in length and can weigh 30-40 tons. These whales feed on marine animals such as Antarctic krill, which is so abundant that there may be as many as 35,000 krill in one cubic meter of water, and the whales live here and have plenty of food, so they are relatively large.
However, scientists have found that some southern right whales are now getting thinner, and scientists believe that as the climate warms and glaciers melt, their food is gradually decreasing. In the context of climate warming, the range of Antarctic krill is now shrinking southward, and the density is also declining sharply.
One of the reasons why brown bears are unable to hibernate and that a large number of mammals are shrinking in size is that scientists believe has a lot to do with climate change.
The brown bears mentioned above live in the Arctic region, and this year the Arctic region has experienced the hottest summer on record, and the temperature in many areas is relatively high, and in the case of higher temperatures, it is difficult for brown bears to "sleep".
However, due to climate warming and human influence, many wild animals are shrinking their habitats and food sources are becoming narrower, which will also affect the survival of wild animals.
In fact, after the rise of humans, many wild animals were on the verge of extinction, or even disappeared from the face of the earth. When Homo sapiens arrived in Australia, the entire Australian ecosystem was "reshaped", and all but the kangaroo and other large animals were wiped out. And with the increasing number of human beings, as humans continue to expand our living space, this seriously threatens the habitat of many wild animals, which will also lead to the desperation of some wild animals.
Especially after entering the industrial revolution, human society has developed rapidly, and in this short period of two or three hundred years, our human beings have a very great impact on the earth, one of which is climate warming. The record-breaking and unusually high temperatures on the planet are largely due to climate warming. When climate change occurs, disasters such as melting glaciers, abnormal climates, extreme droughts, and extreme floods may occur, which can affect polar bears, brown bears, and other wildlife.
What should humans do?
Now that the global climate is warming, we humans need to bear a lot of responsibility. As the home of our human beings, the quality of the earth's environment is closely related to our human beings, so protecting the earth's environment and wildlife is to protect our human beings. In that case, what should we do when we face the problem of global warming?
In the final analysis, climate warming has a lot to do with carbon emissions, so over the years, scientists have also been trying to find ways to reduce carbon emissions, such as vigorously developing clean energy and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. In addition, scientists have also come up with many ways to solve the carbon dioxide that has been released into the atmosphere, such as planting trees. In this regard, our country can be said to have done a very good job, and now that the earth is getting greener and greener, our country can be said to have contributed a lot.
According to the news released by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, since the launch of the three landmark battles of the Three-North Project this year, a total of more than 6 million acres of afforestation and grass planting have been completed. Of course, this is just the beginning, we plan to complete the target task of 600 million mu by 2030, including 200 million mu of desertified land and 400 million mu of ecological protection and restoration. All these measures can effectively alleviate the trend of climate warming.