BREEDING

• Polar bears normally mate from

late March to May

• Gestation is around eight months • Pregnant polar bears will seek out maternity dens, in October or November, in which to hibernate and then give birth to their cubs. Pregnant polar bears need to build up fat reserves to survive the “denning period”

• Cubs are born from November to January while the mothers are hibernating

• Sows can have up to four cubs at a time, though one or two is more common

• Cubs weigh about two kilos when they are born, and will nurse until they reach about 10 to 14 kilos before emerging from the den in March or April

• Cubs will stay with their mothers

for a little over two years

• Female polar bears can produce

five litters in their lifetime

• Polar bears have one of the lowest

reproductive rates of any mammal