# @thetorontozoo on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DPG18sIDG8r
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/35026925-thetorontozoo-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/d8db07ff36.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-09-27T13:12:29.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Toronto Zoo (@thetorontozoo) — https://gondola.cc/thetorontozoo

## Caption

During this #FatBearWeek, Shintay is weighing at 211kg (~465lbs) 🐻 
 
Fat Bear Week takes place this year from Sept. 23-30. Are you aware? This period coincides with the time bears like grizzlies are bulking up for their "winter sleep", and at this moment, Shintay is the biggest eater at your Toronto Zoo 🍽️ 
 
It’s important to note that Grizzlies do not actually hibernate. Their body under goes changes allowing them to alter body temperature and reduce activity in their gut to help conserve their energy reserves. They can be easily disturbed from their sleep and they can actually wake up at any moment! During this “dormant” period their metabolic activity slows, they do not eat or drink, and lose considerable amounts of body fat every day. In the following year they will regain weight (mostly in the form of fat) in preparation of the next winter sleep. 
 
Through positive reinforcement, Wildlife Care trained Shintay to be weighed regularly. When she woke up from her winter torpor in March, she was 218 kg (480lbs), dropping to her lightest at 173kg (380lbs) in July. Her goal for this winter is 250kg (551lbs), meaning she has about 43kg (95lbs) to gain in the next 5 weeks before typically plateauing until she goes to sleep. 
 
Your Toronto Zoo provides a seasonal diet program that simulates wild calorie changes, to Shintay throughout the year. When the bears wake up in March, it takes a little bit of time for their metabolism to become geared up and for bears to have an appetite. During this time they are offered strictly produce, including apples, oranges, celery and romaine lettuce, equating to about 10 kg (22 lb) per day and adjusted to the bears’ preferences and intake. This is similar to in the wild, where some brown bears would emerge from their winter dens and come down from mountainous regions to graze in meadows and valleys until the salmon migration later in the year. (1/2)

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## Tags

fatbearweek

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