WATCH: Frolicking bears wake from hibernation early

Tuesday, February 9, 2016, 9:04 AM - It looks like it's not just parts of Canada that have had less than their fair share of winter this season.

Famously frigid Finland has apparently also had a spell of unseasonal warmth, apparently enough to confuse the two bears at the Helsinki Zoo. 

The duo -- 15-year old Sofia and her 10-year-old daughter Yulia -- emerged from their hibernation earlier in February, about a month ahead of schedule, with enough energy to frolic around in the enclosure outside their den.

"Well they seemed to be happy," zoo curator Kristina Renqvist told Finnish-language publication Ilta-Sanomat. "They have been around for a few days and have received food."

The bears retreated back into shelter after their morning exercise, and will be monitored by zoo staff and fed accordingly so they return to full strength.

Staff say this isn't the first time the bears woke ahead of schedule. Last season, they woke as early as January, although they returned to their slumber shortly afterward and woke up again in early March as planned.

"This is not expected to happen this year, unless the Arctic winter weather makes a return," spokesperson Mari Lehmonen told Aamulehti.

SOURCES:  Helsinki Zoo | Aamulehti | Ilta-Sanomat