TALLINN - Estonia's warmest winter for two centuries has woken some of its 600 bears several months early from hibernation, wildlife experts said on Friday.
The bears' early reappearance has raised concerns for the survival of this year's cubs. "It has been very warm and wet and many flooded rivers have forced bears out of their dens and out of hibernation," said Kalev Manniste, a senior official at the Baltic country's State Forest Service.
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She-bears normally give birth to tiny walnut-sized cubs during their winter hibernation and suckle them for months as they grow, before the spring thaw awakens the mother and she leaves her den. Local media and hunters writing on Internet sites say that across the country bears are moving about the forests at a time when they normally sleep and would not be seen for another two to three months.
Temperatures have stayed above freezing, compared with the average temperature of minus 5 Celsius (23.00F) for January."
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http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/29019/story.htm