14-year-old metsana Diana is already sleeping her winter sleep in the Stara Zagorje Zoo

The 14-year-old brown bear Diana has been sleeping her winter sleep for ten days. She is one of the nine representatives of this species of animals, raised with a lot of love and care in the Starozagorsk Zoo. One of the oldest bears living in a zoo in Bulgaria lives here – 26-year-old Bella. With the exception of Diana, however, all the other mezzanines in the park are awake.

“Bears that are not born in nature miss hibernation – what we call winter sleep. The conditions that have been created in Diana’s habitat come as close as possible to the brown bear’s natural habitat, which favors her falling asleep in the winter months,” explains d Dr. Ivelina Ilieva, head of the zoo.

The zoo published a video of Diana preparing for her hibernation.

Although during the cold months they become lazier and slower, not all mezans in the Stara Zagorje park go into hibernation. Most likely, they cannot sleep in the winter because of the constant human presence and the daily care that the staff takes for them. During the autumn months, a bear consumes an average of about 20 kg of food per day. This huge amount is necessary for her to spend the winter in her den in warmth. It is currently unclear whether Diana will be followed by her stepsisters into the bear dream world.

Photos and video: starazagora.bg, Facebook / Zoo Stara Zagora