Bear-ly Awake

by melissa bradshaw

What animal climbs trees, is a great swimmer, and is an expert fisher? It’s . . . a bear! There are eight species of bears, and six of them are endangered. The eight types are Asian black bears, brown bears, giant panda bears, North American black bears, polar bears, sloth bears, spectacled bears, and sun bears.

Bears have a very good sense of smell, and even though they will eat some meat, their diet consists mainly of berries, nuts, and roots.

Bears are well known for hibernating. Groundhogs, snails, wood frogs, and even bumblebees also hibernate. During hibernation, animals enter a state of inactivity. An animal hibernates to conserve energy, usually during a time that their food supply is low—typically during the winter. Bears don’t sleep the entire time they hibernate, but they don’t eat or drink and rarely go to the bathroom. 

In very cold areas bears might hibernate for seven months, although they will come out of their dens if they need to, especially if their den gets flooded or damaged. Hibernating bears don’t always sleep in dens. Bears have been found hibernating in road culverts, under the porches of homes, and even on a pile of leaves!

A bear’s body goes through some incredible changes during hibernation. Their body temperature lowers by 5 to 10 degrees, their heart slows down to 10 beats a minute, and their rate of breathing drops significantly.

The Bible talks about many of God’s people experiencing a time of extended rest. The Bible describes death as a dreamless sleep, which continues until the resurrection day, when Jesus returns. At that time those who have slept the sleep of death will awake to join Jesus, the angels, and all of God’s children on the incredible journey to heaven
(1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17). They will never get sick again, and will live with Jesus forever in the earth made new! What a wonderful day that will be!

While losing a loved family member or friend is very sad, we can take comfort in the promise of the resurrection. Jesus is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25)!

This article is provided by My Place with Jesus, a ministry of It is Written, a Christian media ministry based in Chattanooga, Tennessee that has been proclaiming the message of God’s love since 1956. Check out more fun and games on the My Place with Jesus website!