Video of the bear stirring after seven months of hibernation has become an internet sensation.
Don't poke the bear!
Especially not this one.
A black bear at Glacier National Park in Montana has become an internet star after webcam footage of the animal looking in dire need of a cup of java was posted on the park service's Facebook page.
The groggy mammal looks out from its den, in the hole of a tree, as a bird approaches. At one point, it lays its head on the trunk's knothole and appears barely able to keep its eyes open.
Just last week, park employees installed webcams at 13 locations within the 1,583-square miles of wildness in Montana's Rocky Mountains. The bear cam is 357 feet away from the bruin's hibernating home, but has a 30x optimal zoom that captures the bear in extreme close-up.
"It's a very popular bear," park spokeswoman Lauren Alley told InsideEdition.com on Monday. The video has been viewed tens of thousands of times.
Waking from hibernation is a process that can take several weeks, Alley said, with bears seeming very groggy. After up to seven months of deep sleep, during which bears neither eat, nor drink, nor expel waste, the animals are very hungry when fully awake.
And they often are very grumpy.
So park rangers also wanted to take the opportunity to remind folks who live in bear country to carry bear spray and make a lot of noise when out walking. Residents should also keep their trash and bird feeders indoors until late spring or early summer.
Bear spray is really a big can of pepper spray, Alley said. "It sends them running," she said. If you should happen upon a groggy, grumpy bear that comes walking toward you, "spray a big cloud of it between you and the bear," she advised.
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