Imagine going to sleep and waking up months later, with three new babies that you gave birth to with no memory of the big event. This is part of the black bear’s mating cycle every year. The bears mate in late summer, but the cubs don’t begin growing until the female bear, called a “sow,” enters her den to hibernate. Some time between mid-January and mid-February, she gives birth to 2 to 3 cubs without fully waking from hibernation. She and the cubs stay in the den together until springtime.
So, while winter does her thing, mom and cubs are safe and warm in their winter hibernacula!
Photo credit: For Fox Sake Rescue
Wood and Field 