Saskatoon Forestry Farm grizzly bears end hibernation with a bang

Staff at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo knew hibernation was over for their resident grizzly bears when they heard a loud bang on the door of the bears' den Friday morning.

"In the wild, they just push out their den and off they go, but here, they really shook those doors," said Tim Sinclair-Smith, manager of the zoo.

• Hibernation over for grizzly bears at Saskatoon Forestry Farm

• Saskatoon Forestry Farm lets grizzly bears enjoy winter slumber

It's the first time Mistaya and Koda have hibernated.

Sinclair-Smith said staff were unable to let the bears hibernate before because they couldn't lower the temperature in the building where the bears are kept. The water lines in the building, which were connected to the main water line, could have been impacted.

"We addressed that issue by separating the building. We created a warm zone on one side and the dens on the other side."

As the temperature naturally lowered, the bears' instinct took over and they went into hibernation on Dec. 4 of last year.

Sinclair-Smith said the zoo was able to save some money since the bears didn't have to eat for three months. Both are still at healthy weights.

"They still got plenty of weight on them. They could probably go through a couple more hibernations."

The two bears, orphaned as cubs, spent more than two years at the Calgary Zoo before being transferred to Forestry Farm in 2008.

• Grizzly orphans transferred from Calgary to Saskatoon