When are the cubs born?
Black bear cubs are born between early December and early February; however, actual birth events are rarely observed in the wild. In one Pennsylvania study, 32 litters were born between January 3 to 24, averaging January 15. Newborn cubs are blind, hairless, and weigh about 7 to 10 ounces. They locate their mother’s nipples and suckle immediately after birth. Sows usually have 6 functional mammaries. As the cubs grow, they become increasingly active within the den. By mid-March, they may venture a short distance outside and then return. The shortened gestation period and subsequent birth of very small young allows bears to shift from transplacental to mammary nourishment of the young. This is undoubtedly a response to physiological constraints associated with supporting fetal growth while hibernating and avoiding food intake. References: Alt 1983, Kolenosky and Strathearn 1987a, Powell et al.
Breeding occurs in the Spring (usually in April) and cubs are born approximately 1 month later (usually in May). Cubs are born without fur and are blind. They weigh about an ounce (30 grams) and measure about 4.25 inches (10 cm) long. It takes about two weeks for them to have fur, and four weeks before they can open their eyes. At five weeks, they are running around. The mother will nurse them for about 6 weeks. When they are able to eat on their own, she will move each one away from the home den to a separate den and leave it. However, she will visit each one daily for a few weeks to check on it. In my case, mom let me stay at HogHaven (I was the favorite, of course), and I have lived here every since and had cubs of my own! 14. Do groundhog families stay together? No, we are pretty much “loners”. As mentioned above, mothers and fathers do not even share living quarters after the young are born. When I was born, Dad was no where to be found. Mom raised us all by herself, and my brothe
Otters have litters of between 1 and 6 cubs. Two is the most common number of cubs in a litter. The cubs are born in March or April. The mother otter will find a den suitable for her young just before they are born. The cubs nurse until they are about 4 months old. They also learn how to swim and hunt by watching their parents. When the cubs are very young the mothers send the fathers out of the den. When the cubs are half grown, the fathers are welcome back into the den to help care for the young.
Cubs are born between January and February. They weigh about half a pound at birth. The female bears usually wait until they are about three years old before having cubs. The new mothers usually only have 1 cub the first winter. The tiny newborns nurse while their mother hibernates. They nurse for about a year and they stay with their mother for the first 1.5 to 2.5 years. Mother bears are very protective and will guard their cubs from danger. Sometimes the cubs climb trees to avoid danger while the mother stands on guard.
