From the current New Scientist online;
Let sleeping bears lie
DESPITE hardly moving during the five to seven months they hibernate, black bears retain muscle tissue and strength. Henry Harlow and his colleagues at the University of Wyoming found that the bears lost only 22 per cent of their muscle strength during hibernation, and only 10 to 15 per cent of their protein (Nature, vol 409, p 997). A human would lose 85 per cent of their strength and 90 per cent of their protein if bedridden for a similar period.
The researchers believe the bears need good muscle condition to be ready to fight predators such as wolves if disturbed in their cave. By studying muscle biopsies, Harlow has shown that the bears maintain their muscle using nitrogen from urea. "They don't eat, drink or pee for 130 days," says Harlow. "The bear reabsorbs urea through the bladder and uses the nitrogen to conserve protein."
From New Scientist magazine, 24 February 2001.
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Definitely paleo.
William