Bearly Awake: Koda and Mistaya yawn into Spring at the Saskatoon Zoo

The grizzly bears at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo are officially awake from their long winter nap.

Koda and Mistaya don’t fully hibernate in the winter. Instead, they enter a state called torpor where their activity slows down, but they still get up and move around, even though they are not completely awake.

Zoo Manager Jeff Mitchell said in the spring, the staff monitors temperatures and starts to open the doors to the enclosure to provide outside access for the bears.

“Koda is notorious for being one of the first ones to wake up and walk out,” Mitchell said. “He sticks his head in the snow and then backs right back up and falls right back asleep.”

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Mitchell said it’s Koda’s signal he will likely get up for the spring in about two weeks.

“When the sun starts coming out a little longer, we’ll see Mistaya kind of sunning himself out, right inside their den… that kind of tells us that they’re coming,” Mitchell said.

The two bears combined lost 125 kilograms during their winter rest and are now eating about five to six kilograms of lettuce a day to help the bears break down their food.

Mitchell said staff put the bears through 17 different diets throughout the summer and fall to establish proper gut health.

Zoo Manager Jeff Mitchell at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo. (Mia Holowaychuk/650 CKOM)

This year, a keeper will be assigned to the bear enclosure for up to eight hours a day to ensure they have opportunities to play, learn and develop as they grow older.

“We’re really working hard to make sure their lives are enjoyable and exciting and full of enrichment and different activities that they can do,” Mitchell said.

It’s not just the bears that are ready for spring; Mitchell said the elk and caribou are more active and are ready to grow their antlers.

“The zebras are really, really excited,” Mitchell added. “They’ve spent the last four or five days out, sleeping outside and they’re all excited to be able to be out and about again.”

Bobcat at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo. (Submitted)

Mitchell said the bobcats don’t snack as much in the springtime.

“Bobcats will slow down during the summer because they don’t use as much energy to keep warm,” he said.

“Other animals will increase their eating because they’re getting ready for mating and breeding,” Mitchell noted.

Mitchell said his favourite part about spring at the zoo is watching all of the people come back for the season.

“Spring is one of those times that rejuvenates me because now I know I get to do some more projects outside and I’m not stuck inside all summer,” he said.

One of those upcoming projects is a brand new bear exhibit, with plans and designs set to be unveiled soon.