March Napness 2025
The annual sleepiest bear competition returns!
May the sleepiest bear win!
Welcome to the 3rd annual March Napness Competition! This celebration of hibernation features bears who were rescued by FOUR PAWS and now live in a species-appropriate environment at our bear sanctuaries throughout Europe. Inspired by March Madness, the NCAA college basketball tournament, March Napness is a bracket-style tournament where hibernating bears “compete” to see who will remain in hibernation the longest. The sleepiest bear wins!
Meet our 2025 Competitors
BEAR SANCTUARY Arbesbach, Austria
Brumca
Sleepy Stats: In 2024, Brumca awoke the first week of March
One of the first bears rescued at Arbesbach, Brumca is known as 'The Queen'. She will often refuse to eat food that is cut or placed in the wrong location--a true diva!
Erich
Sleepy Stats: In 2024, Erich awoke the first week of March
Erich is the biggest bear in Arbesbach but not the bravest. He runs away from helicopters, loud noises, construction workers, flies, or for no clear reason at all.
Mark
Sleepy Stats: Last winter, Mark truly hibernated for the first time, and immediately rested for 107 days!
Although cuddling is definitely not an option, because of his cute looks, Mark fully deserves his nickname 'Teddy Bear.'
Arosa Bear Sanctuary, Switzerland
Amelia
Sleepy Stats: In 2024, she awoke the week of March 26
Amelia is known as a bright and curious bear. She lives with Meimo, and you can check out their live web cam here.
Meimo
Sleepy Stats: In 2024, he awoke the week of March 26
Meimo is a quiet, shy bear, who is known for being nocturnal. He shares an enclosure with Amelia. Check out their web cam.
Sam
Sleepy Stats: In 2024, Sam made it to the March Napness finals along with sister Jamila.
Sam hibernated for the first time in his life in 2023, a year after his rescue. Check out his live web cam.
Jamila
Sleepy Stats: In 2024, Jamila made it to the March Napness finals along with brother Sam.
Like Sam, she also hibernated for the first time in 2023. Check out her live web cam.
BEAR SANCTUARY Belitsa, Bulgaria
Iva
Sleepy Stats: This is Iva's rookie year competing in the competition.
Iva is the youngest bear at Belitsa and the youngest bear competing in this year's March Napness. She lives with fellow competitor Jeta, as well as Teddy and Riku.
Suzana
Sleepy Stats: In 2023, Suzana awoke the week of March 14.
Suzana is a very curious bear who can be a bit camera shy. She loves plums, apricots, and cherries.
Jeta
Sleepy Stats: In 2024, Jeta made it to the semi-finals.
Jeta enjoys the company of her friends Riku, Teddy, and fellow March Napness competitor, Iva.
Svetla
Sleepy Stats: In 2023, Svetla slept the longest of any bear at Belitsa. Last year, she awoke the week of April 2.
Svetla is the oldest bear at Belitsa and the oldest bear competing in March Napness this year.
BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr, Ukraine
Tyson
Sleepy Stats: Last year, Tyson made it to the March Napness Finals!
Two years ago, Tyson's friend Mashutka dug her own den, then lazy Tyson took her den and spent the winter there!
Frankie
Sleepy Stats: In 2024, Frankie awoke the week of March 26.
Frankie is a very gentle bear. He lives together with Anya, and they are the most playful couple at the sanctuary.
Masha
Sleepy Stats: Last year, Masha slept her way into the semi-finals!
Masha is quite a curious bear! She lives with her friend, Potap, and always likes to know what is going on around her.
Julia
Sleepy Stats: In 2024, she slept until the week of March 26.
Julia is a very careful bear, who loves all the toys and enrichments that our caretakers prepare for her.
BEAR SANCTUARY Müritz, Germany
Mascha
Sleepy Stats: Winner of March Napness 2023
Last year, hibernated until the end of March
Mascha can be quite dominant towards other bears, but is otherwise a very unhurried bear.
Michal
Sleepy Stats: In 2024, he awoke during week of March 26
Michal is curious, playful, open-minded and very people-oriented.
Rocco
Sleepy Stats: In 2024, he awoke in mid-March.
Rocco is a very active, rambunctious bear that loves playing with enrichments, tree trunks, and anything he can find in his enclosure.
Ida
Sleepy Stats: In 2024, Ida woke up in mid-March.
Ida is known as a stubborn bear that appreciates her solitude and has a lot of tenacity.
BEAR SANCTUARY Prishtina, Kosovo
Mira
Sleepy Stats: Last year, Mira slept 121 days, longer than any other bear at Prishtina.
Mira is a quiet, good-natured bear who is the largest female at the sanctuary at 440 lbs!
Tomi
Sleepy Stats: Tomi is a wildcard! We look forward to tracking his sleep this season.
Tomi enjoys exploring, swimming in the pool, and playing with enrichments provided by the staff.
Hana
Sleepy Stats: In 2024, Hana awoke the first week of April.
Hana is known as a confident bear. She shares her enclosure with two males, Anik & Mal, and she has no problem standing up to them!
Mal
Sleepy Stats: Another wildcard! We'll see how long Mal sleeps this year.
Mal lives with bear Anik and fellow competitor Hana. He enjoys being sprayed with a hose on hot days!
How to Participate
Join our March Napness 2025 Bracket Challenge! We invite you to play along and fill in your own March Napness bracket. Read about our bear contestants, and predict which bears you think will hibernate the longest at each sanctuary, and who you think will take home the ultimate sleepy crown!
You can download your own bracket here or download the printable version.
Be sure to follow us on social media for the latest March Napness updates and extended coverage of all our bear competitors.
The Nap Recap
Weekly updates on our March Napness Tournament
Week 3: March 18 Update
Who woke up this week?
*Ida, BEAR SANCTUARY Müritz
*Iva, BEAR SANCTUARY Belitsa
*Svetla, BEAR SANCTUARY Belitsa
*Frankie, BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr
*Amelia, Arosa Bear Sanctuary
*Mal, BEAR SANCTUARY Prishtina
A record-breaking week of awakenings in the 3rd week of the March Napness competition! A total of 6 bears decided to end their hibernation this week—that’s the most bears ever to awake at once in our 3 years of competition! So, it’s goodbye to the competition, but hello to the springtime for Ida from BEAR SANCTUARY Müritz, Iva and Svetla from BEAR SANCTUARY Belitsa, Frankie from BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr, Amelia from Arosa Bear Sanctuary, and Mal from BEAR SANCTUARY Prishtina.
Several of these awakenings have set up quarter-final match ups at our sanctuaries: Masha and Julia from BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr will square off for the Ukrainian championship, and our other Mascha (and 2023 March Napness Champ) is in a snooze battle for the crown with bear Michal at BEAR SANCTUARY Müritz. At BEAR SANCTUARY Belitsa, both our oldest competitor (Svetla, age 34) and our youngest competitor (Iva, age 8) woke up this week, leading to a sleepy showdown between bears Jeta and Suzana in Bulgaria.
Who do you think will win these quarter-final nap matches? Share your predictions with us on social media and fill in your interactive bracket to choose the ultimate hibernation champion!
Week 2: March 11 Update
Who woke up this week?
*Erich, BEAR SANCTUARY Arbesbach
*Rocco, BEAR SANCTUARY Müritz
The second week of March saw two more early birds (or maybe they’re early bears!) end their winter slumber. Rambunctious Rocco, who is known for being very active and playful, couldn’t wait to get out into the spring sunshine at BEAR SANCTUARY Müritz in Germany. And while bear Erich from BEAR SANCTUARY Arbesbach in Austria also awoke quite early in the competition, he slept a full week longer than he did in 2023 and 2024 when he was the first bear eliminated from competition. We applaud Erich’s sleepy progress this year!
Now that both Erich and fellow Arbesbach teammate Brumca are out of the competition, that means we have our Austrian champ—congratulations to bear Mark! Charismatic Mark, who was a rookie hibernator last year, has snoozed his way to the title of Sleepiest Bear of Arbesbach.
All the other bears are still sleeping soundly…for now. Who do you think we be the next to wake up? Share your predictions with us on social media, and fill in your own bracket to predict the ultimate March Napness Champ!
Week 1: March 4 Update
Who woke up this week?
*Brumca, BEAR SANCTUARY Arbesbach
*Tyson, BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr
Welcome to your weekly Nap Recap! Week 1 of March Napness 2025 was a real snoozefest, as most of the bears are still fast asleep and enjoying their winter rest. However, there was some potential bracket busting action this first week of March. For the second year in a row, Brumca from BEAR SANCTUARY Arbesbach in Austria awoke in week 1; however, her Arbesbach teammate Erich decided to sleep in, breaking his streak as the first bear to awake in 2023 and 2024. Does Erich have the sleepy stuff to snooze all the way to the finals this year? Only time will tell!
The biggest surprise of the week occurred at BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr in Ukraine where Tyson, one of last year’s finalists, also awoke. Tyson has been coming out of his den in the evenings, and his caretakers have been feeding him one of his favorite foods—apples!
Is your perfect bracket still intact or did Tyson surprise you too? Send us a message on social media to share your predictions and to let us know how you’re doing in the competition. And if you haven’t filled in your bracket yet, there’s still time! You can download your own here.
FOUR PAWS Countries Where You Can Donate
March Napness Media Kit
Interested in covering our March Napness competition? Download the Media Kit and get in touch!
March Napness Coloring Pages
Featuring: Tyson from BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr, Jamila from Arosa Bear Sanctuary, Ida from BEAR SANCTUARY Muritz, Svetla from BEAR SANCTUARY Belitsa, Brumca from BEAR SANCTUARY Arbesbach, and Mal from BEAR SANCTUARY Prishtina