During these years, a mother bear will teach her cub's survival techniques crucial to their existence. They will learn which foods return the highest nutritional value and where to attain them, along with how to defend themselves and where to den for the winter. The cubs pictured here are Cubs of the Year or COY's. Cubs of the year are cubs that were born during the recent winter between January and February. At birth, cubs are blind, hairless and weigh less than one pound. They feed on mother's milk for several months until they emerge from the den in the spring between May and June weighing 15 to 20 pounds. Cubs return to the den with their mother to hibernate for the winter beginning in October, weighing 80 to 90 pounds. Sows with cubs are the first bears to enter their den for winter hibernation and the last ones to emerge in the spring. Female brown bears are notorious for being aggressive when protecting their cubs. One of the most dangerous situations in brown bear country would be to find yourself between a sow and her cubs. **The cubs pictured here belong to the Mastedon. She kept them with her for two seasons, 2000 and 2001. In the spring of 2002 she chased them off. The three bears, 2 females and one male have been working the creeks where they were raised. Mother and cubs still frequent the same feeding spots, but the cubs keep their distance from her and will often run when she approaches.** Summer 2003, the Mastedon's offspring are no longer together. We believe we may have spotted the girls due to their fishing techniques and behavior when in the vicinity of the Mastedon, though it is particularly difficult to be sure without some identifying marks. |