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Bear hibernationAlabama

When Do Bears Hibernate in Alabama?

Alabama bears are feeding hard before winter, and go into their dens between November and early January.

Today, October 13

The bears

Fattening up

Bears start going into their dens in early November.

Bird feeders

Take feeders down when bears show up

Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries gives one rule for the whole year, and says black bears may or may not hibernate, depending on how hard the winter is and how much food there is.

Where these dates come from

Photo: “Black bear on a snowy spring day”, Neal Herbert, National Park Service, Public domain

Dens and feeders in Alabama

By Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries' den and wake months
November to early January
Into the den
per Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries
March to April
Out of the den
per Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries
All year
Bird feeders
Take feeders down when bears show up

Bears go into their dens over several weeks and come out over several more, so each is a span. Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries gives one feeder rule for the whole year, quoted below.

The sources

The dates, in the agencies’ own words

Into the den

Bears in Alabama go into their dens between November and early January.

Louisiana black bears enter dens between November and early January, depending on latitude, food availability, gender, age, reproductive status, and climatic conditions (Weaver 1990, Hightower et al. 2002).

Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, Louisiana Black Bear Management Plan, read October 13, 2026. Its den months are used here for Alabama.

Out of the den

They come out between March and April.

At the end of the dormancy period (March–April), females with cubs are usually the last to leave the den.

Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, Louisiana Black Bear Management Plan, read October 13, 2026. Its wake months are used here for Alabama.

The bird feeder

Take feeders down when bears show up. Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries' guidance holds all year, so it has no dates.

Remove deer and bird feeders at the first sighting of bear activity.

Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Alabama Black Bears, read October 13, 2026

Bears in Alabama

In recent years, black bears have steadily immigrated into northeast Alabama from northwest Georgia, primarily to DeKalb, Cherokee and Etowah counties, and have established a small, but viable population in that region of the state.

Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Alabama Black Bears, read October 13, 2026

Black bears may or may not hibernate depending on the severity of the winter and available food.

Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Black Bear, read October 13, 2026
A dark opening dug into a hillside underneath a large grey fallen tree trunk, with green plants around it
A bear den under a fallen tree in Yellowstone, photographed in late May. Under fallen trees is one of the den sites BearWise names, along with hollow trees, dug out mounds and nests under briar patches. “Bear den underneath a fallen tree”, Jacob W. Frank, National Park Service, Public domain
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Month by month

The Alabama bear year

Where the bears are in each month, from the den and wake months above, and where the feeder stands.

  1. January: In the den
  2. February: In the den
  3. March: Waking up
  4. April: Waking up
  5. May: Out and hungry
  6. June: Out and hungry
  7. July: Out and hungry
  8. August: Out and hungry
  9. September: Fattening up
  10. October: Fattening up, this month
  11. November: Denning now
  12. December: Denning now

Take feeders down when bears show up: Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries gives one rule for the whole year, so no month is marked up or down. The bar for this month is outlined.

Sightings

When Alabama bears are seen

The months people report black bears in Alabama on iNaturalist, from every year, and the reports from the last 30 days.

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57 research grade black bear reports from Alabama on iNaturalist, all years, by the month they were seen. Most come in July, fewest in January. Counted September 19, 2026. The bars count sightings people logged, not bears.

Reading the last 30 days of bear reports from iNaturalist.

Bears out in winter

What Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries says about bears out of the den in winter:

Harms said bears in Alabama don’t really hibernate.

Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Black Bears on the Move in Alabama, read October 13, 2026
A cinnamon brown black bear walking through low shrubs and dry grass
A black bear at Great Sand Dunes, photographed by the park in spring as bears were coming out of their dens, hungry. “Black Bear, Great Sand Dunes National Park”, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Public domain
Questions

Bears in Alabama: questions and answers

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By state

Bear hibernation in the other 41 states

Other guides for Alabama

Bear Season in AlabamaFall activity and hunting dates by state.Hummingbird Migration in AlabamaWhen hummingbirds arrive and leave, and when to take feeders down.Winter Backyard Birds in AlabamaThe top feeder birds by state, December to February.Attic Wildlife in AlabamaWhen you may and may not evict animals from an attic.Bear Hibernation in every stateDen, wake and feeder dates for all 42 states, with the eight that have no dens.

Den, wake and feeder sentences are quoted from Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, nearby agencies where named and BearWise, read October 13, 2026. The phase and the feeder verdict are worked out from those months and today’s date. Bear reports are research grade iNaturalist observations of the American black bear, counted September 19, 2026.