Warm Weather Causing Bears to Wake Up and Wander Missoula Area
March has arrived bringing us ever closer to springtime in western Montana. Hard to believe we were experiencing record low temperatures just over a week ago. Who am I kidding? That's not "hard to believe." Anyone who has experienced the weather fluctuations here in Montana knows that it can change drastically on an hourly basis, where we can go through all four seasons in a single day. Where your car can have the heater cranked during the morning commute, and your air conditioning on during the commute home. As we teeter on the edge of winter and spring, the fluctuations can get even more extreme. It can become confusing to us humans. Not to mention our friends in nature.
Montana weather can be confusing to bears.
The recent warm temperatures have got some bears waking up early from their winter nap. There have been reports of bear sightings occurring around Missoula.
According to NBC Montana
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials are monitoring recent reports of black bears emerging from their dens during the warm spell. FWP confirmed bears sometimes emerge during warm spells because they wake up to wet dens from melted snow and rain.
It makes sense. If you were in a deep sleep and your roof started leaking. You would probably wake up and wander around a little too. At least until the leak is taken care of. Then you would say to yourself, "How about I lay down for a quick nap?"
Sightings have mostly been reported in the Rattlesnake area.
Just give it a couple more weeks, and we should start to see more and more bears wandering and hungry for breakfast. Just hope that one doesn't get stuck in a tree and we have to repeat the now-infamous Missoula "trampoline" video.
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