A mother’s love runs deep… even in the wild.
It’s always cool to see a mother animal looking after their young. Much like human mothers, mama bears are very protective of their young, however for them, it’s a much more intense world out there in the wild. They have to protect their cubs from everything…
There’s certainly no denying every mother’s connection to their children, regardless of the species, and it’s fascinating to witness in the wild.
Mother bears have a battle with their young right from birth as many grizzly males will possibly attack them in attempt to breed the female again. Cubs typically stay with their mother for 1-3 years, and sometimes as often as 4 years, however she won’t breed until the young bear has separated and went off on its own.
If a mature boar comes by and wants to mate with momma, he may attack, run off, and possibly even kill the young cub so the sow will mate with him. It’s pretty savage, I know…
Especially since cubs are also some of the cutest young animals out there, as they come out looking just like teddy bears for the first bit of their life.
Needless to say, seeing a mother and her cubs is always a treat.
This brown bear mother was out catching some fish for her and the cubs, a favorite for bears in Alaska.
As she grabs onto the salmon, her cubs are out in the water learning the ropes. She heads back in and one of the cubs jumps right onto her back and holds on to save some energy on the way in.
As the description on the video explains, this is a very young cub:
“A spring brown bear cub or COY (cub of the year), meaning the cub was born that spring, riding on its mother while crossing an Alaskan river, located within Katmai National Park and Preserve.
They tend to do this when very young and small. Not all cubs and mothers behave this way. Mothers tend to allow this behavior for only a short time.
As the cubs grow it slows her down from getting food and teaching them all the necessities in order to survive.”
What a wholesome and amazing sight to see.
