Page 67 - The World of Animals

appetite. But you should

never try this! Because,
bees will sting you all

over and make you sick.
But, the coat our Lord has

given to bears protects them
against the bees. So, they can easily reach honey

without any trouble.
Bears that hibernate in autumn never leave their

secure dens where they lie covered with dry branches
and grasses until spring. Before hibernation, they eat a

lot, especially cones and chestnuts, so that the fat layer underlying
their skin thickens. They have to store fat in their body. That is
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because before spring they will lose so much weight. If a man lost
so much weight, he would die outright. But bears can survive even

though they lose so much of their weight.
Delivery is another reason that bears spend time in their caves.

Bears usually give birth to three cubs, and they feed them with milk
until spring. During that time they never leave their caves. Bear

cubs are born blind, toothless and hairless. Once the cubs are out
of the cave, the mother bear must protect them. Otherwise, they

might be killed by hunters or male bears.
Our Lord, Who is the All-Compassionate and Merciful, meets the

needs of all creatures and protects them. Likewise, He has provided
cute bear cubs with everything they need to survive and not be

hurt. He has secured their protection by means of their strong
mothers who never leave them.