Surprisingly, often life commonplace in some areas of the animals is very mythologized. With these myths are not any foreigners, and are local residents. If to speak about Russia, such myths surround the bear beast, without which it is difficult to imagine a native forests.

Especially many tales goes about the little-known period in the life of this animal is about hibernation. So, still rural residents in many regions are convinced that normal bears sleep in winter without prosipa and even approaching den hunters are not able to get it to Wake up (it supposedly is awakened only when the dogs begin to climb in his asylum). Well, if clumsy and awake in winter, it is a connecting rod, which is dangerous for everything that moves, because he was unable to store fat for the winter and is now trying to suck, but can't do it.

Unfortunately, this statement is very, very improbable. Studies of many zoologists, including the largest specialist for brown bears Valentin Sergeevich Pazhetnov, proved and normal bear, which has accumulated a lot of fat, quite often wakes up in the winter. He can travel through the forest at very great distances.

Why master of the taiga can't sleep? The thing is that even in calm his dream will not name a particularly deep - temperature beast constantly varies between 29 and 34 degrees, and the intensity of the heart and respiratory rates are reduced to a maximum of one and a half times. That is, from the outset, brown bear not falls into a deep sleep - perhaps due to the fact that the beast of such parameters that would be simply dangerous. The more the weight of the animal, the more difficult it is to enter the full hibernation and exit. It can be used by predators who are awake in the winter - so if the bear really soundly, I would not be able to Wake up even when the wolves began to gnaw he his.

Thus, Toptygin a dream hears everything that happens around, and in the event of an approaching danger can leave the den. By the way, and shelters with him a few - from autumn he prepares not one, but three-four winter "apartments". Moreover, they can be far from each other, but always within an individual section for each of the bear. At times he changes the den and for other reasons - for example, due to the fact that the house is selected in the beginning of hibernation, in the middle of winter is cold.

So in the winter forest you can meet quite a normal bear. Unlike rod, which is due to hunger pangs can become very dangerous and really catches at all, Toptygin, changing the den, not aggressive and prefers to hide. And you can understand him - he does not want to waste energy, which in the form of fat accumulated all summer, on an empty disassembly with a strange bipedal creatures!

By the way, the rods - these poor animals aggressive because all the time want to eat, but physically can't do. The digestive system of a rod as normal bear, with the onset of cold "disabled" - in the acidic stomach changed to a neutral and enzymes can't work. This protective mechanism is needed to ensure that during hibernation bear not earned stomach ulcers - if enzymes are active, they can begin to digest the cells of the mucous membrane. But this rod "fuse" can lead to mental disorders.

Another myth that is associated with hibernation, says that as if in a dream Toptygin sucks paw. Frankly, it is not even clear where it came from this statement, it is not appropriate to the reality - until the second half of the XX century, when it became possible by means of video cameras to observe the dream of the beast in the den, the sleeping bear nobody saw. Even those who by chance in the winter forest came down to the den, came nose to nose with already woken up (and very scared), but not sleeping bear. However, this myth is actively walks on children's tales and cartoons to this day.

It is not excluded that this claim was born by analogy - it is known that some children (and adults, too) during sleep can suck their fingers. Well, as a bear in ancient times, many people believed almost one, then it's a reflex action could move without thinking, he does so or not.

Alas, those who thinks so, I'll have to disappoint any of the paw of the four available bear does not suck. He just shouldn't do - because, unlike man, this action is not soothing. Recall that for a human finger, which he sucks in the dream is symbolic substitution of the breast, so it operates on him soothingly. Well, the bears feed on their mother's milk only three months, so they have such an Association is not enough to form.

However, the only thing that observed zoologists, podsmatriva for winter hibernating bear is that it sometimes is licking the soles of their feet. He does it because they have it dry up during sleep and begin to itch, causing sleepy beast some concern. However, this does not always happen, and if it happens quite rarely.

And finally, the last myth is the assertion that all polar bears in winter too. Actually lie dormant only pregnant females, and lasts no more than two months. The males and the females that summer was unable to get pregnant, remain active. They don't need to sleep, so any winter sleep is not linked to the deteriorating weather conditions and lack of food. And in the Arctic, even in winter there is always something good...