Black bear stops by wildlife camera at Prince William Forest Park for "photo shoot"

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - Prince William Forest Park posted a series of photos on Facebook Tuesday of a black bear hamming it up for one of the park's wildlife cameras.

The park says bears visiting cameras like this isn't unusual. Although bears do hibernate in the winter, the park says if the weather permits, bears can still be spotted in the colder months.

"Black bears, particularly in our area, don't hibernate quite like most people think," the Facebook post says. "They do bulk up in the fall, eating as much as they can and building up body fat for warmth and energy reserves, and once winter starts, they do sleep a lot to conserve energy and body heat by lowering their heart rate and metabolic rate. However, for the first couple months of winter if the weather is still nice, they are actually very light sleepers and will remain pretty active."

Photo: National Park Service

The park also says that as the area experiences more snow and lower temperatures, bears will be settling into their dens and "properly" hibernating until the end of March or so.