| Polar bear cubs start their lives as cute and | | | | The cubs usually stay with their mother until |
| cuddly youngsters. | | | | they're 2 1/2 years old, although some bears in |
| This is in stark contrast to the majestic kings of | | | | the Hudson Bay area wean their young at age 1 1 |
| the Arctic they will become if they survive to | | | | 2 . When the cubs reach a point where they have |
| maturity. | | | | suitable strength and coordination, and when they |
| Female polar bears have their first set of cubs | | | | are able to walk well and respond to their |
| between the ages of four and eight (usually at | | | | mother's motion and sound commands such as |
| age five or six). Females in the Low Arctic wean | | | | stay or come, they are ready to leave their |
| their cubs as they approach their second birthday, | | | | mother and the den. |
| while those in the High Arctic, where conditions | | | | During the time that the cubs are with their |
| are more a lot more harsh and demanding, care | | | | mother, they must learn how to hunt and survive |
| for their cubs an additional year | | | | in one of the Earth's harshest environments by |
| Polar bear cubs are most often born in pairs, but | | | | watching their mother. A mother bear's success |
| sometimes the litter contains three cubs and | | | | at hunting seals directly influences their well-being |
| possibly only one cub. They're born between | | | | and determines whether or not the cubs will live |
| November through January in a den. These snow | | | | or die once they are on their own. A mother will |
| dens are known as "maternity dens" and are | | | | sometimes carry her cubs on her back through |
| made to protect the newborn cubs from the | | | | areas of deep snow or water if conditions are too |
| freezing Arctic temperature extremes. | | | | hazardous for the youngster. |
| At birth, the cubs are 30 to 35 centimeters (12 to | | | | Once the cubs are weaned, either the mother |
| 14 inches) in length and weigh a little more than | | | | bear or the male chases the cubs away so that |
| half a kilogram (about a pound) . Having no | | | | they can begin life on their own. |
| senses, during their first few vulnerable weeks of | | | | Polar Bear Cubs and Environmental Issues |
| life, they nurse most of the time and stay as | | | | As you can see, Polar bear cubs are very |
| close as possible to their mother to keep | | | | vulnerable during their first few months. This |
| themselves warm. The female has special | | | | period is the time during which most of the |
| crevices within which the cubs can get the | | | | deaths from global warming and pollution take |
| warmth they need to survive. | | | | place. |
| Polar bear cubs are born small and helpless, with | | | | Mother bears are feeding on polluted fish and |
| their eyes closed and their fur is very fine at | | | | seals. The pollution is stored in their massive body |
| birth, making the cubs look hairless. They get their | | | | fat and when they have their offspring, they pass |
| first glimpses of their mothers after they open | | | | the pollution on to the young via there high-fat |
| their eyes sometime during the first month. | | | | mother's milk. Often their cub's immune systems |
| The cubs grow very quickly while they're in the | | | | are too weak to fend off the toxins and the |
| den, thanks to the calories in their mother's rich | | | | resulting complications, so they die. |
| milk, which has a fat content of roughly 31% . | | | | Global climate change is shortening the time that |
| Cubs often lie on there mothers belly to nurse | | | | bears have to breed and this means that they |
| while their mother sits back and puts her head | | | | put off having their children until too far into the |
| back and seems to slightly move back and forth | | | | season. So, fewer bears are being born. |
| as if to rock the cubs. The cubs begin walking | | | | This double whammy is causing Polar bear |
| inside the den at roughly two months. During this | | | | populations to decrease dramatically. |
| time, the cubs still spend about 85% of their time | | | | One study estimated that only 43 percent of |
| in the den, sleeping there at night. | | | | polar bear cubs in the southern Beaufort Sea |
| When she finally emerges with her cubs, most | | | | survived their first year during the year 2000, |
| often in late March or April, she leads them to the | | | | compared to a 65 percent survival rate in the late |
| sea ice so she can break her long fast by hunting | | | | 1980s and early 1990s. |
| seals. Cubs begin eating solid food at this time | | | | Clearly, something must be done to maintain polar |
| which is at approximately three to four months | | | | bear reproduction at a rate that ensures the |
| of age. | | | | survival of the species. |