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Bear hibernationVermont

When Do Bears Hibernate in Vermont?

Vermont bears are feeding hard before winter, and go into their dens in mid November.

Today, October 13

The bears

Fattening up

Bears start going into their dens in mid November.

Bird feeders

Keep feeders down until December

Vermont Fish and Wildlife says feeders can go back up in December.

Where these dates come from

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

Dens and feeders in Vermont

By Vermont Fish and Wildlife's den and wake months
Mid November
Into the den
per Vermont Fish and Wildlife
Mid March
Out of the den
per Vermont Fish and Wildlife
Mid March
Feeders down
per Vermont Fish and Wildlife
December
Feeders back up
per Vermont Fish and Wildlife

Bears go into their dens over several weeks and come out over several more, so each is a span. Both feeder dates are Vermont Fish and Wildlife's own, quoted below.

The sources

The dates, in the agencies’ own words

Into the den

Bears in Vermont go into their dens in mid November.

When fall foods are scarce, most bears den by mid-November.

Vermont Fish and Wildlife, Black Bear, read October 13, 2026

Out of the den

They come out in mid March.

In recent years bear activity has begun in mid-March.

Vermont Fish and Wildlife, Bears Are Waking Up, Vermonters Should Take Down Birdfeeders and Secure Other Food Sources to Prevent Bear Conflicts, read October 13, 2026

The bird feeder

Down in mid March, back up in December. Both dates are Vermont Fish and Wildlife's.

Take down birdfeeders between mid-March and December.

Vermont Fish and Wildlife, Bears Are Waking Up, Vermonters Should Take Down Birdfeeders and Secure Other Food Sources to Prevent Bear Conflicts, read October 13, 2026

Bears in Vermont

Regulated hunting is used to align population estimates with biological data, habitat limitations, and public satisfaction data to sustain a bear population between 4,500 and 6,000 animals.

Vermont Fish and Wildlife, Black Bear, read October 13, 2026

Although bears are often thought to hibernate, they are not true hibernators.

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

Up and Down mark where the feeder stands in the middle of each month. The bar for this month is outlined.

Sightings

When Vermont bears are seen

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

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1,755 research grade black bear reports from Vermont on iNaturalist, all years, by the month they were seen. Most come in May, 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

How easily a denned bear is roused, in the words of NJ Fish and Wildlife:

While in torpor black bears are capable of being easily awakened if disturbed and they may leave their dens on mild winter days in search of food.

NJ Fish and Wildlife, Black Bear Biology and Behavior, 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 Vermont: questions and answers

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By state

Bear hibernation in the other 41 states

Other guides for Vermont

Bear Season in VermontFall activity and hunting dates by state.Hummingbird Migration in VermontWhen hummingbirds arrive and leave, and when to take feeders down.Winter Backyard Birds in VermontThe top feeder birds by state, December to February.Attic Wildlife in VermontWhen 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 Vermont Fish and Wildlife, 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.