September 17, 2024 at 3:18 am

Supermom Grizzly Bear Spotted With An Unprecedented Five Cubs

by Trisha Leigh

Source: Stan Mills

Want to know what it’s like to go full “mama bear” for real? Look no further than this mama bear who’s carting around five cubs.

Grizzly bears and black bears both live in Yellowstone, and cubs from both species are usually born in January or February.

A typical litter is two, but up to four is fairly normal.

Source: Andrea Baratte

This litter of five is the first one that size that’s ever been reported in the park.

Andrea Baratte is a Yellowstone tour guide, and the guy lucky enough to capture this mama on video.

“I’m so glad that I got to document it, otherwise nobody would have believed it.”

Stan Mills, a nature photographer, also managed to capture a few images of the tired mama bear.

“These grizzlies were walking toward the right when I came over a little mound and spotted them. The mother spotted me while I was getting my camera out.”

At this point, biologists haven’t been able to determine 100% that all of the cubs belong to the same mother, or if one (or more) might have been adopted.

Bears have been known to abandon their cubs in extreme circumstances, and there are documented cases of bears raising cubs that aren’t biologically theirs.

I can promise you that mama treats all of them the same, though.

Frank van Manen, who leads a team that studies the bears, would love to know.

“If this was truly a litter of five, it would be the first one recorded in the history of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, for sure.”

Maybe one day they’ll be able to confirm one way or another.

For now, we’re all just enjoying the pictures.

Thought that was fascinating? Here’s another story you might like: Why You’ll Never See A Great White Shark In An Aquarium