'Still the same old Boki' - brave bear wakes from hibernation

It's been a rollercoaster for paw-ly brown bear Boki, but he's just come out of hibernation and is doing lots better

You might remember Boki, a three-year-old brown bear, who has been recovering from one-of-a-kind life-saving surgery.

Well it's more good news in Boki's world, as he's just woken up from hibernation with lots of paw-sitive signs for the future.

Boki lives at a conservation centre run by charity Wildwood Trust, where he's been back in action playing with his toys and eating lots of snacks.

Jon Forde, who works at the Wildwood Trust, said: "All his personality traits are still there - he's still the same old Boki that we love."

Boki's hair is growing back after he had to have it shaved for his operation

Back in October, Boki had to have brain surgery to help with some health issues that came from a build up of fluid in his brain.

The last time we heard from Boki was in November, when his team said he was making a "remarkable" recovery, and the brave bear was slowing down ready for hibernation.

Jon Forde says "Boki did well for his first ever winter sleep," and that he's looking "brilliant, happy and healthy".

Wildwood Trust's head of zoo operations Mark Habben added: "He's back to being the Boki we first met. It's like he's forgotten that he even had an operation."

Hedgehogs are one of the many animals that hibernate over winter

What is hibernation?

Hibernation is a special skill that some animals have which allows them to shut down for a long period of time.

These animals find a cosy place where they can rest for the winter - they don't fall asleep, but reduce their heart rate, body temperature and breathing.

This means they don't need to eat and use much less energy than they would if moving around.

Brown bears are a particularly large animal that hibernate, as it's mostly smaller animals like mice and bats that have this ability.