Watch bears bask in sun after waking up from restful hibernation

Whipsnade Zoo's four European brown bears Mana, Minnie, Naya and Cinderella were spotted basking in the first of the spring rays having awoken after three months of deep slumber.

Footage captured by zookeepers this week shows the bears taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of a new year at a leisurely pace.

Whipsnade Zoo’s predators section manager Sarah McGregor said: “Spring is a magical time at Whipsnade Zoo, a moment made ‘official’ when our brown bears emerge from hibernation.”

“They can be quite sluggish when they first wake up, and this year has been no exception – they've definitely wanted to hit the snooze button a few times! I think, like the rest of us, they’re waiting for the sun to really start shining before committing to leaving their cosy beds.”

Wild bears enter hibernation, a survival skill they’ve learned to preserve energy when food availability is scarce, every winter. While food is plentiful at the zoo, the bears are still driven by innate instincts to forage, and so the keepers adapt what they are fed to match their behaviour and encourage them to rest over the coldest months.

Sarah continued: “Although they're a little dozy at the moment, our brown bears get excited by food or enrichment, and love rolling about in scents we spray or sprinkle in their habitat. Over the next week or so they’ll have well and truly woken up, and we can’t wait to see them playing together or making a splash in the water of their pool.”

While European brown bears are listed by the IUCN as a Least Concern species, some subpopulations in Europe are Critically Endangered from habitat loss and human/bear conflict.

Sarah added: “Our bears are great ambassadors for their species, to help educate and raise awareness of European animals and highlight how important it is for us to find ways for people and wildlife to coexist.

“ZSL, the international conservation charity behind Whipsnade Zoo is working around the world to restore habitats and protect important species. We’re so lucky to have Naya, Cinderella, Mana and Minnie at the conservation zoo to educate visitors on the threats facing bears in the wild and what we can all do to help.”