Chapter 7 of Norma's Homemade Banana Bar

National Hug a Bear Day

National Hug a Bear Day - Unfortunately (fortunately?), most bears are hibernating
I have to disagree with the hibernating statement. You cannot always be sure that most are hibernating. It depends on the amount of body fat they have managed to get on during the hyperphagia of fall.

There have been times in Yellowstone that bears are spotted early in the Spring or even late in the Fall and even into Winter.

This site is for black bears. Grizzlies are prevalent in Yellowstone, but we did see some black bears there as well.

https://bear.org/5-stages-of-activity-and-hibernation

I would never poke a bear, never hug a bear, never get within spitting distance of any bear. We heard a big roar from one as we approached it on a trail. At that point, hubby pulled out the big 'bear gun', I grabbed our bear spray, and we both very slowly walked backwards several yards, then again slowly walked to the car. Yikes!

We never did see that bear. Our dog ran ahead of us, past the bear, evidently took a big detour and eventually found us again.

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