09/09/2026
Wildlife Wednesday: Where Do Black Bears Spend the Winter?
It is that time of year when bears are starting to prepare for winter!
When we imagine a bear den, we might think of a cave on a mountainside. But in coastal British Columbia, black bear dens often look quite different.
Black bears depend on large old trees, hollow logs, and stumps for their winter dens. The Coastal Bear Den Identification Manual says that coastal black bears almost always use these wooden structures for dens. Unlike the Interior, where snow can insulate, our wet coastal winters mean bears need a warmer, drier, and more protected space.
A good den only needs two simple things: a secure, dry space and an entrance just big enough for the bear to squeeze through. The entrance can be surprisingly small, sometimes only about 25 cm wide. This small opening helps keep heat in and makes it easier for the bear to protect its den.
Some of the best dens are found inside large, hollow old trees. These hollow spaces form slowly as fungi and insects break down the center of a living tree, a process that can take hundreds of years. In coastal B.C., den trees are usually very old and large. Western redcedar and yellow-cedar are especially important because they can stay alive while their centers become hollow.
But bears don’t only use standing trees. They might make their dens inside or under large fallen logs, beneath the roots of overturned trees, or in old stumps. Some female and younger black bears even use hollows high above the ground, climbing up the tree to reach their winter den.
Inside, a bear might make a nest-like bed. They gather tree branches, shrubs, grasses, ferns, and moss to make bedding, though some just scrape material from inside the tree.
Why do these dens matter so much?
A den isn’t just a place for a bear to sleep through winter. For female bears, it’s where the next generation starts. Cubs are born tiny and helpless inside the den and spend about three months growing before they’re ready to survive outside.
A good den can stay important for many years. Black bears often reuse dens year after year, and the same den tree might shelter several generations of bears as long as it stays safe and dry.
That’s why old trees, big fallen logs, stumps, and other features that might seem imperfect are so valuable for the forest. What looks like just an old hollow tree to us could be a winter home, and even a nursery, for generations of black bears.
If you ever find what you think might be a bear den, don’t go near it or try to check it out. If a bear is disturbed, it might leave the den, and this can be life-threatening for the bear.
Sometimes, the most important wildlife habitat in a forest is right in front of us, hiding in plain sight. These photos are from the East Sector Forest and may show potential den sites for the bears that live there.
Follow us to learn more, explore, and help protect the East Sector Forest.
