Thanks guys, I'm glad ya'll enjoyed it as much as I did.

Shultzy, our males don't truly hibernate during the full winter unless it's severe. The females of course will during birth.

A male may only crawl under a brush pile and come and go as necessary. As far as I know. That eating may or may not help keep their weights up.

I know not that far from me there was a bear tranq'd and weighed. It was a big male in the spring and the PGC said that if this bear was taken legally during the fall season, it would have been the new world record. (currently in NC). No one took that bear as far as I know.