Van bears defy hibernation, raise concern among scientists

VAN

Bears in the eastern province of Van raise eyebrows among scientists as they defy their natural hibernation patterns due to global warming and the availability of food all year round, warns professor Dr. Lokman Aslan, the director of the Van YYU Wildlife Conservation and Rehabilitation Center.

The pristine geography of the Van Lake Basin, located in the Eastern Anatolia region, hosts a diverse range of wildlife, including numerous brown bear species. However, the failure of bears to hibernate on time or at all in recent years has become a concerning trend. Researching the matter, Aslan attributed this to the bears' ability to access food year-round in the face of global warming.

Aslan, who informed that bears usually feed and fatten during the warmer months and slow down their metabolism by going to their dens over a period of four to seven months for hibernation, stated, "In recent years, they have been experiencing delays in hibernation due to global warming and changes in food habits. The reason for this is the disruption of the ecological balance. If you provide the bear with food, it does not need to hibernate. A bear that can access food for 12 months of the year does not go into hibernation. They have reduced the winter hibernation to two-three months due to our food waste left in nature, the slightly warmer winters due to global warming, and the bears' constant access to food."

Aslan emphasized the potential conflicts that may arise if humans continue to intervene and feed bears. He stated that bears who are unable to find food might resort to searching for it near human settlements, leading to dangerous encounters.