Brown bears in the Pyrenees have been spotted waking early from their winter slumber thanks to the warm weather, writes .

Warmer than average temperatures in Spain this winter have caused bears living in the Pyrenees mountains in Catalonia to wake up and postpone their hibernation, according to the regional Department of Territory and Sustainability.

The department reported on Wednesday that a team of scientists monitoring bears in the mountains recorded video of a mother bear with three cubs roaming around looking for food as recently as Tuesday.

In the video, the bears can be seen scaling a mountainside, probably in search of acorns on the ground near the village of Lladorre, according to the report.

"At this time of year, the whole family should be hibernating inside of a cave," the sustainability department wrote.

The report said that it seemed the mild temperatures and little snowfall had made the bears decide to delay hibernation.

"It is possible that they may have started to sleep, but due to favourable weather conditions and the availability of food, they woke up and came out to eat and walk," the department stated. "When it definitively starts to snow, they will begin their hibernation again."

bbabo.Net