Grizzly Bear Scratches Itch After Hibernation at Maryland Zoo
A grizzly bear was filmed giving her chin a good scratch as she and her sister were waking up from their hibernation at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore in late February.
Surveillance video posted by the zoo shows the duo, Nova and Nita, opening their eyes, stretching out and rolling around on bedding inside their den.
According to the zoo’s website, the two sisters “slowly emerge from their winter torpor” each spring in a "series of fits and starts.
“Our bear team will be monitoring the den on closed-circuit television, just as they have since the pair entered in November,” the zoo says.
This footage of the bears was captured on February 21, the zoo said, as their “hunger and instinct” was forcing them to wake up and look for food from their keeper.
“After having some veggies or chow pellets, these enormous animals plod back to their winter bedding,” the zoo said on its website. “They’ll repeat the process every so often, moving from bed to food then back again until the frequency shortens and, at last, each one is ready to emerge for the season.” Credit: Maryland Zoo via Storyful
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