Baby Polar Bear Sitting in the Snow

About this drawing

A baby polar bear is born in the middle of winter, inside a den dug into the snow. Hidden there from the wind and the worst Arctic cold, it will spend its first few months.

Before giving birth, the mother digs a cave in a snowdrift and settles in. The cubs are tiny, blind and almost hairless when they arrive. Twins are most common, though sometimes there is just one. They drink their mother's very rich milk and grow quickly.

All that time, the mother does not leave to hunt or eat. She lives on the fat she stored in the months before, so she has to feast and fatten up before she ever enters the den.

In spring, the family finally steps outside. The cubs tumble and play in the snow and gradually follow their mother onto the sea ice. For about two and a half years they learn from her how to walk on ice, swim and hunt. After that, they are ready to live on their own. Seeing a mother bear lead her cubs across the snow for the first time is one of the most heartwarming sights in the Arctic, and wildlife photographers wait weeks to capture it.

• polar bear
• baby animals
• cub
• winter