Polar Bear Affair

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Polar bear cubs are so cute

Polar bear cubs really look adorable with their white fur. Surprisingly this white fur is so minute at the time at which these cubs are born that they almost look devoid of any hair.

These cubs are born when their mothers are 4 to 8 years old. These cubs are generally born as two at a time, but sometimes, three cubs can also be born at the same time. The physical specifications of the cubs are a height of 30 to 35 centimeters at the time of birth. They are not born as intelligent animals. But rather are quite dumb. So, for the first few weeks following birth, they spend their entire time near their mothers to gain heat from them. Their mothers have special gaps in their bodies where they can hide for getting this heat.

The time for which a mother takes care of her cubs depends on the region. Generally, mothers have these cubs with them till they are 2 years old, but in high arctic where conditions are not that feasible, they provide support to their cubs for three years. However, the polar bears residing in the Hudson mother area desert their cubs only when they are 11/2 years old. Cubs are quite naughty. Male cubs generally indulge in play fighting so that they can face the heavy competition that arises during mating in adulthood.

The eyes of the polar baby cubs are not open at the time of their birth. They remain closed for somewhat near a month, when they see their mothers for the first time. Polar cubs also take some time in learning to walk. They are only able to walk when they are two months old. They also start consuming solid food with the help of their mothers at an age of three to 4 months by hunting seals.

When cubs are deserted by their mothers, they have developed an ample amount of strength in their bodies to face the world on their own. They also walk perfectly and respond intelligently to the sound commands produced by their mothers. A mother during her weaning time teaches her cubs how to hunt and survive in the most deadly conditions in arctic. The survival of the cubs depends on the expertise of their mothers in hunting down seals. A mother also carries her children on her back in areas infested heavily with snow and water if the conditions are not comfortable for the cubs to stride on their own. At the end of weaning, the cubs are hounded away by the father or mother.

Polar bears are facing an enormous amount of risk from the environment. Since the polar bears are quite weak during the first 3 to 4 months after their birth, the maximum deaths due to pollution and global warming occur at this time. Mother bears consume polluted seals and the contaminants get passed on to their milk which is then fed to the young cub. But the infants immune systems are not strong enough to resist these pollutants which results in their death.

Polar bears are members of bear family and are mostly found in the arctic regions. They do require extreme cold climates for survival and these Polar Regions are their only habitat. Baby polar bears are born as cute and healthy youngsters. They grow in to very big size if they survive maturity.

Female polar bears do give birth to the young ones between the age of four and eight. In most cases a female would give birth to the first set of cubes at the age of five Baby polar bears are mostly born in pairs. A female would give birth to at least three cubs. Only in rare cases will there be a one cub. The period from November to January is known as the maternity period for a polar bear. It gives birth to its young one in this period. The den were the cubs are born is known as ‘maternity dens’ as these are made specially to protect the new born babies from the freezing polar climates.

A baby polar bear is born small and helpless. Their body would have thick hair which helps them to survive the cold of the arctic. These hairs would make the body warm and helps in slowly adapting with the extreme cold climate of the polar region.  At birth, a baby polar bear would weigh about a pound. These cubs would be 30 to 35 centimeters in length and starts growing very fast. New born polar bears will not have any senses so they are very much protected by their mothers from all enemies. The mothers keep their babies close to their body so as to keep the body of the cubs warm. A female polar bear do have special crevices within its body which can help to keep the body of cub warm as well.

A baby polar bear grows very fast. Like all other animals the mother does protect the child up to a certain period. During these times it is the calorie rich milk of their mothers which survives the life of a cub. Scientists say that the milk of a mother polar bear is rich in fat content. It is the mother which helps a cub to adapt itself with the climate of the arctic. She would emerge out of her den at the end of March or April so as to teach her babies the basic skills for hunting food. The cubs would be first treated with the food that is hunted by mothers and so these babies start eating solid food when they are four or five months old.

The baby polar bears stay with their mothers till the age of two and a half years. But the bears of the low arctic region leave their child even at the age of one and a half years. Within these years the baby polar bears would be taught how to catch the prey of their own. When these cubs have grown and attain a stage from which they can survive of their own, the mothers would chase them away to go and lead their own life.

Polar bear cubs really look adorable with their white fur. Surprisingly this white fur is so minute at the time at which these cubs are born that they almost look devoid of any hair.

These cubs are born when their mothers are 4 to 8 years old. These cubs are generally born as two at a time, but sometimes, three cubs can also be born at the same time. The physical specifications of the cubs are a height of 30 to 35 centimeters at the time of birth. They are not born as intelligent animals. But rather are quite dumb. So, for the first few weeks following birth, they spend their entire time near their mothers to gain heat from them. Their mothers have special gaps in their bodies where they can hide for getting this heat.

The time for which a mother takes care of her cubs depends on the region. Generally, mothers have these cubs with them till they are 2 years old, but in high arctic where conditions are not that feasible, they provide support to their cubs for three years. However, the polar bears residing in the Hudson mother area desert their cubs only when they are 11/2 years old. Cubs are quite naughty. Male cubs generally indulge in play fighting so that they can face the heavy competition that arises during mating in adulthood. Read the rest of this entry »