Saturday, October 20, 2012

Baby Black Bear

Baby Black Bear
Minnesota has a healthy population of black bears. The MN DNR estimates about 20,000 black bears in the state mainly in the northeastern third of the state. The mating season for black bear is from May to July however the female black bear will not immediately become pregnant after copulation. She will hold the fertilized egg until around November. If she is healthy she will become pregnant and the cubs will be born in the den while she hibernates, usually January. If she is not healthy the egg is reabsorbed and the pregnancy terminated. I guess you can say that bears are pro choice. This youngster emerged from the den with his mom. If danger is nearby the first instinct of the cubs is to climb a tree. He will stay with his mom through out the rest of the year and hibernate with her the next winter. The following May before mom comes into estrus she will chase the cub away and make it known that it is time for it to be on its own.

12 comments:

Liam said...

What a cute guy! :):)

Deborah said...

great capture ... and thank you for your explanation on Black Bears.

Valerie said...

A charming capture - thanks for sharing.

carol l mckenna said...

Adorable ~ Yet another awesome shot ~ (A Creative Harbor) ^_^

Anonymous said...

lovely cub and really interesting post. it's not easy being a mother bear. miracles of nature delight me. I'm visiting from Your Sunday Best and I'm your new follower. happy weekend :) xxo

Debbie said...

Awww, too cute and a great shot!

Susan said...

Wow...this is so amazing. What a beautiful little bear.

Hope you have a great Sunday!

DeniseinVA said...

This sure is an amazing photo of the cub and fascinating to learn more about the black bear. Thanks again!

Ahayes1225 said...

What a wonderful shot!

Nancy said...

Such a cute "teddy" bear. Magnificent capture!

genie said...

What a beautiful baby. He looks a little bit apprehensive there on the tree. This is such a special shot. Seldom do we see a baby bear doing its thing out free in nature. genie

amanda said...

We have at least five different black bears that have been regulars on our trail cameras on our property this year. No small cubs, though.
One year when I was a kid, we had a trio of cubs in a tree very close to our house. They waited there until their mother came back for them. We were always taught to beware the mother bear. :)
We've never seen more black bears than our trips to northern Ontario, though. Once we had one nearly jump in our car window! I posted on it here: http://ourfunwithfive.blogspot.com/2011/06/blue-lake-rocky-shore-canada-2011.html