It looks like the bears in Ontario and Quebec think the groundhogs got it all wrong.

Groundhogs forecast an early spring on Feb. 2 but most eastern bruins are still enjoying their long winter sleep.

Since Wiarton Willy, Ontario's fabled weather-predicting rodent, failed to see his shadow on Groundhog Day, snow has blanketed Eastern Canada.

It only recently started to disappear.

The lengthy winter is being cited as the reason bears have chosen to roll over and snooze for a couple more weeks, both in the wilderness and at a Montreal zoo.

"They're a little behind schedule," said Jonathan Luce, curator of mammals and birds at the Montreal Ecomuseum. "It's interesting. It's not scary in any way, but it's different."

Late thaw delays Mother Nature's wake-up call

Luce said zoo bears, like their wild counterparts, take a wake-up call from the weather to end their annual hibernation.

Normally, the bears get up around March 25, give or take a few days.

A spokeswoman at the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources said Tuesday that most of the bears in that province also "will be getting up later."

"Our understanding is that the late snow melt over much of Ontario will delay the bears emerging from their dens," said Jolanta Kowalski.

Alberta bears already seem to be up and around. Some have been seen ambling around Banff National Park and there have been reports of tracks near Canmore, Alta.

Bears don't go into a deep sleep like rodents, who are completely out during the winter.

Bears occasionally get up in winter

"In the middle of winter, if you get two or three nice days in a row, you could have bears walking around," Luce said.

"They're not active, looking for food, since their food sources are virtually impossible to find. A lot of their diet is based on berries and vegetation."

The bears pig out in the summer and live off their fat in the winter. They begin to slow down in the fall and nod off in December.

A black bear can go for 100 days without drinking, eating, exercising or doing much else.

Light and warmer temperatures usually wake up the bears.

"This year the beginning of spring was colder than usual so I think temperature has just pushed them back, despite the longer days," Luce said.

Long winter not affecting most hibernating animals

Other creatures, such as raccoons, amphibians and reptiles, seem to be waking up on schedule.

"They're more food-motivated," Luce said.

Bears in the wild that have roused themselves likely woke up because they are peckish.

"If they weren't quite as well prepared, if they're a little bit more hungry, then they're probably going to be getting up earlier so they can start looking for food," Luce said.

The Ecomuseum's three female bears — which each weigh around 300 pounds — have been yawning and showing other signs of life in the last few days. They may amble out of their dens on the weekend, Luce said.

"That kind of gets decided by them," he said.

But don't be worried about any foul moods.

"They're not grouchy but they tend to be slow. They're not really, really active. They'll kind of mosey about a little bit, like people when they wake up. They're a little bit on the drowsy side still," Luce said.

He didn't think Montreal's bruins would wake up any faster with the Boston Bruins coming to town for the National Hockey League playoffs.

"No," Luce said with a laugh. The Boston Bruins "are going to lose anyway."