Mother Polar Bear and Cubs

Polar bears have nowhere to move as they lose their polar home. The icecaps are melting and the sea ice arrives 6-8 weeks later .This means they can not hunt for  seals..the only food that supplies the high fat content that they need to gain weight and prepare for the 8 months of fasting that the females endure in order to raise their young.

Around 2 months of age Mom brings cubs out of snow den and starts to fed them close to the opening as they adjust to their new world..Mom has not eaten for 8 months..longest fast for mammals.

For up tp 2 weeks Mom watches over her cubs as they explore their surroundings.around the den site...playing and getting stronger so they can make the long journey back to the coastal area where the seals will be birthing and finally Mom can eat and continue to produce milk for the cubs. It is a race against starvation for her and death for the cubs as she can not supply enough milk.

Mom spends time to clean her coat as she has been lying in the same spot in the den where only the cubs can move. They are born blind and are the smallest animal at birth compared to the Mom's size. She eats all their waste so the den is very clean . She produces no excrement or urine.how this happens is still under investigation

Mom stops several times on their journey back to the ocean so the cubs can rest all the while knowing she must soon find food or the survival of all is at risk.

The polar bears of Churchill Canada are predicted to be the first that will go extinct as it is the most southerly part of their range  and the devastating effects of global warming..lose of ice and their food source is severe and progressi