Wis. researchers continue to study how bears endure

The snow-rimmed hole where the tree once stood looks like any other ragged cavity left behind when fierce winds uproot white pines like ragweed yanked from a widowâ??s flower garden. In it was an old black bear — a male, most likely — who had made it through another hunting season and returned to the dirt cave to hibernate. Bears are studied by to University of Wisconsin students and professors, including professor Tim Ginnett at UW-Stevens Point and graduate assistant Karl Malcolm and Professor Tim Van Deelen at UW-Madison.