Bear cubs being born
January is a time of renewal and new life for Minnesota’s black bear population!
Mother bears will give birth to their cubs in mid-January to early February. Cubs are born with their eyes closed and weigh about a pound. They grow quickly, weighing about 4 to 6 pounds by early March. The average litter size is 2.7 in Minnesota, which means that litters of three are more common than litters of two. The largest litter ever documented here is five, although Pennsylvania holds the record for the largest litter in North America, six cubs! Litter sizes of first-time mothers are typically smaller than those of experienced mothers.
Bears wait longer than any other large mammal in Minnesota to reproduce. We know that food availability in our state’s forests is the driving factor for when bears first produce cubs. In the food-rich central and northwestern forests of the state, bears often reproduce at 4 years old. The food-poor northernmost forests along the Canadian border do not have oaks (which produce nutritious acorns), causing bears to not typically reproduce until 6 years of age or older. Bears reproduce at 5 years old in the rest of bear range. Learn more about black bears on the DNR website.
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