Polar Bear & Cub
Ursus maritimus

f6.7 @ 1/3200s, ISO:1000, Nikon D3S w 500mm and 1.7X tele-extender


\"Polar Bear,\" Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.Cubs may fall prey to wolves or to starvation. Female polar bears are noted for both their affection towards their offspring, and their valiance in protecting them. One case of adoption of a wild cub has been confirmed by genetic testing. Adult male bears occasionally kill and eat polar bear cubs, for reasons that are unclear. As of 2006, in Alaska, 42% of cubs now reach 12 months of age, down from 65% 15 years ago. In most areas, cubs are weaned at two and a half years of age,when the mother chases them away or abandons them. The western coast of Hudson Bay is unusual in that its female polar bears sometimes wean their cubs at only one and a half years. This was the case for 40% of cubs there in the early 1980s; however by the 1990s, fewer than 20% of cubs were weaned this young. After the mother leaves, sibling cubs sometimes travel and share food together for weeks or months.
Svalbard, Norway
 
07/30/2013