Parental Habits of polar bears PDF

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This morning, we will be discussing the parenting habits of polar bears Mating (Spring) Between April and late June, male polar bears search for female mates on the sea ice by following scented trails left by footpads. Mating takes place on the sea ice. But the fertile eggs don’t implant until the fall, and only if the female has enough fat to sustain herself and her cubs during the long denning period. This process is called delayed implantation. After mating, adult males remain with the female for a few days before taking off on their own. Denning Fall & Winter After feeding through the summer and fall, gaining as much weight as possible, pregnant female polar bears prepare to enter maternity dens to give birth to their cubs. To build a den, the female digs a small snow cave in a snowdrift —just large enough for her to turn around. She then waits for the snow to close the entrance tunnel and completely hide the den under the snow. So,let’s move on to the Birthing (Winter) Wild polar bear cubs are most often born in December. The mother gives birth to 1-3 cubs, with twins most common. The family remains in the den until spring. While in the den, the mother bear doesn’t eat or drink. She is devoted to nursing and caring for her cubs. Two polar bear cubs cuddling in the forefront, with a polar bear mother laying in the snow resting in the background. Polar Bear Cubs Totally dependent on their mothers, newborn cubs are blind, toothless, and covered with soft white fur. They weigh little more than 1/2 kg (1 lb) and are just 30-35 cm long (12 to 14 in). The cubs grow rapidly on their mother's rich milk (31% fat) and continue nursing for at least 20 months. Emerging from then Den Polar bear families generally emerge from their dens in March or April when the cubs are strong enough to survive in outside Arctic conditions and make the trek to sea ice. Now, mother bears can start teaching their young how to hunt seals on the ice and survive in the Arctic. There’s a number of reasons why the polar bears cubs have a close relationship with their mothers in the process of Growing Up. Can anyone give me one? Polar bear cubs generally stay with their mothers for 2.5-3 years, learning some things, such as how to hunt, feed, swim, and survive. Between the time they leave their mother and are mature enough to mate, polar bears are called subadults. Mama and her bear cubs present the most common polar bear type of social interaction:

The polar bear mother demonstrates a great deal of attentiveness to her cubs: making certain they stay well-groomed. She attends to them with the utmost of motherly care. The latter statement implies Mama polar bear constantly nurtures and cuddles her bear cubs; and is very responsive in assuring they have plenty to eat. What I find interesting is how the females play a major role in Nursing their cubs. Female polar bears have four mammary glands. Mothers nurse their cubs in a sitting position, or lying down on their side or back. During their first few weeks of life, polar bear cubs nurse most of the time and stay close to their mother to keep warm. For the next three or four months the cubs nurse as often as six times a day. The length and number of nursing bouts gradually decreases as the cubs grow older. Mother polar bears nurse their cubs for as long as 30 months. Some cubs stop nursing as young as 18 months of age, but remain with their mothers for survival until they are 30 months old. The average fat content of polar bear milk is 33%, similar to the milkfat of other marine mammals. For comparison, human milk has a 3-5% fat content. Mother polar bears are extremely protective of their young, even risking their own lives in their cubs' defense

Baby polar bears are born in the shelter of the mother's den. After feeding all summer long to build up reserves her instincts tell her to build a her nest in the fall. Dens are normally dug by the mother's front and hind paws in snowdrifts or snow covered hills near the coast or in snow ridges. Despite the fact that they are built in the snow, the dens provide the cubs protection from the wind, cold, and predators. Most common predators are Arctic foxes and other polar bears, especially adult males. The den is warmer than the outside due to the heat generated by the bears. The snow traps air molecules and acts as insulation. Polar bear cubs spend the majority of their early childhood days in the safety of the den to stay warm and to bond with their mother. The cubs typically nurse for 12 to 18 weeks. However longer periods have been recorded depending on the number of siblings, season length, and factors in the environment that effect food sources. The mother's milk is very nutritious and the cubs grow rapidly in size and weight. A newborn baby is ready to eat solid food in just a few months. They grow their own new fur within approximately 8 to 10 weeks, although it can take up to 14 weeks. The cute pups begin to resemble their mother and will soon copy her habits. After about 3 or 4 months polar bear cubs venture outside the den with their mother. Combined with their instincts, they learn survival and hunting skills from their mother. The pups stay close to "mom" wherever she goes. Once they take their first dip in the ocean, they become acclimated to the water quickly and become good swimmers.

Mother polar bears show their cubs how to stalk prey that is on the surface. They keep their heads low and blend with the snow drifts. They use stealth to follow their prey and then rapidly advance when the opportunity is right. Seals in particular are very vulnerable when they are cut off from their escape hole back in to the water. The baby polar bears observe and follow their mother during the hunt as they will have to do for themselves once they reach adulthood. The reproduction cycle of the female polar bear is only about every two or three years. Because of the long time period population growth is slow. The mother will expect her cubs to live on their own before the next cycle begins. Sometimes a little encouragement is necessary to graduate them to independence. Ok,so climate …. what about the females while they take care of the polar bear cubs? An early break in the thin ice sheet in spring shortens the hunting season, making it difficult for pregnant females to survive, and even more difficult to give birth and raise their cubs. Pregnant polar bears remain in their shelters for a period of up to 8 months, during which they give birth, and during this time they have no food at their fingertips, having to survive on their body fat stores. The most modern threats are the accumulation of pollutants in the Arctic ice and atmosphere and the warming that is affecting its ecosystem. The ice in the areas inhabited by these animals is melting very quickly, forcing the bear to retreat to the mainland without having completed its fat reserves, which they lose during the summer and autumn in such a critical way that it affects the capacity of the females to become pregnant and undermine their ability to produce milk to feed their young. This has caused a drop in the birth rate Accurate information on adulthood survivability of baby polar bears is not readily available due to the difficulty in tracking cubs over their lifetime. Some succumb to starvation, predators, or interference with mankind....