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It is the first part of February, by now a mother black bear has given birth to cubs. The average litter size is two babies. Cubs are born blind, lightly furred, and weigh between half and three-quarters of a pound. Why so small, you may ask? Black bears have delayed implantation of the embryos. Even though breeding takes place in June and July, the fertilized eggs do not implant until fall. The fetuses begin development in November if the mother has stored enough fat to survive and care for her cubs overwinter. When the cubs leave the den at two to three months of age, they weigh around five pounds. At this point they can climb trees but are not able to outrun other predators. The mother bear will defend her cubs for up to a year and a half when they will venture on to live on their own.
As you are out on our adventures this winter and spring, be on the lookout for possible denning locations and avoid these areas, so we don’t disturb the wintering bear. Black bears do not hibernate, as we learned last week. These denning bears can arouse at any disturbance and are very grouchy and unpredictable. For more information on black bears visit https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/american-black-bear.
 Black Bear Mother and Cubs
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