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New Study Finds Mother Bears Are Sticking Around With Their Cubs Longer

In many parts of the world, it is illegal to shoot a brown bear with cubs. The restrictions have made mother bears more likely to spend an extra year with their cubs.
A female Scandinavian brown bear with her cub. Mother bears take care of their young for a year longer, likely due to hunting regulations that protect bears with cubs.

Each spring in the global north, brown bears around the world emerge from their dens with new cubs. The cubs come into the world hapless and fragile. Their fathers are long gone; bear mothers must find a way to raise the cubs while surviving themselves.

Female bears generally spend either 1.5 or 2.5

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