Have you ever heard about polar bear reproduction? The polar bear is one of the largest types of bears on earth that live in the Arctic. Most of them are classified as smart hunter-carnivores in the Arctic. Polar bear is one of the animals that live in the North Pole which commonly gives birth periodically.
Most of them give birth every three years. Their habit can be recognized in their reproduction cycle. If you are wondering about some of the details of polar bear reproduction, here we have some of them below. Let’s check them out!
1. Sexual maturity
Sexual maturity gives an important role in polar bear reproduction which is different from animals that live in Antarctica. There is a difference between the sexual maturity of female and male polar bears. Most female polar bears reach sexual maturity around the age of four to five years.
Meanwhile, male polar bears mostly have sexual maturity when they reach around the age of six years. Most of them found don’t successfully find their mate until reached the age of eight to ten years. Sometimes, most of them even found older when decide to have a mate.
2. Mating activity
The mating activity becomes one of the important phases of polar bear reproduction. Finding their mate to build a family needs some time for polar bears. During spring, commonly most of them try to find a mate which is different from animals that live in the South Pole.
Adult polar bears are popular with their solitary. Even so, they are not anti-social. They keep attracted to finding a mate by following female polar bears’ scent. The competition for getting a female polar bear is pretty intense. Sometimes they need to fight to win over the female.
Most polar bears are classified as polygynous animals. Some female polar bears found that they mate with more than one male during the breeding season. The couple commonly spends time together within a week first, before deciding to mate.
3. Breeding and courtship
Breeding and courtship is one of the important phases for polar bear reproduction which is different from animals in the Baltic Sea. Commonly, male polar bears have a smaller breeding range compared to females. Males will locate females by following their scent.
During courtship time, male polar bears will separate a female from her cub. Physical contact and vocal interaction become more intense between the couple. They will spend time more than a week during courtship time.
4. Reproduction season
Reproduction season is one of the important phases of polar bear reproduction. Female polar bears commonly give birth every three years. It depends on their breeding cycle.
Reproduction season for most female polar bears commonly has a flexible breeding cycle. After finding a mate from March or April up to May, they will spend more time with a male. Uniquely, if they lose their cub before, they will mate again a year later.
5. Pregnancy
Pregnancy is one of the phases of the polar bear’s reproduction to give birth to their cub. Female ovulation in polar bears is commonly induced by males when they are finally mating. Before the pregnancy comes the implantation of a fertilized egg for female polar bears, commonly in autumn.
It depends on the female condition, including their health. The environment around them also influences their successful pregnancy. During pregnancy, female polar bears stand on the land for eight to nine months. They have a fasting period during which and live by their body fat to survive.
6. Maternity dens
Maternity dens are one of the phases of polar bear reproduction. They will dig the dens in late autumn or around early September or October. Females will dig the snow on the land, frozen peat banks, or sea ice.
Maternity dens are made to keep the pregnant polar bear warm. The location of the den is commonly dug in a specific location around one to ten kilometers from the coast. The deep is varied, but mostly they dig up to three meters or more.
Inside dens are warmer than outside. Most of them found that they have temperatures around 20 degrees than outside. Some of them have a tunnel to make the pregnant polar bear move comfortably.
7. Giving birth
Giving birth time is one of the phases of polar bear reproduction. Most pregnant polar bears commonly give birth between late November to early January. But, most of the giving birth happens in December. Most pregnant polar bears commonly give birth to one to three cubs.
Lately, the research mentioned that around 70% of them give birth to around two cubs. Having three cubs is less common. When the mother polar bear dies after giving the bear, other female polar bears will adopt the cub.
8. Life stages
After the female polar bears give birth to their cubs, the life stage of the polar bear has started. Most infants are born within 600 to 700 grams of weight. They drink milk from their mother up until one month or more.
When the cubs reach their weight of up to 15 kilograms or reach the age of three or four months, they are ready to bring to the migration cycle with other polar bears. Most mother polar bears nurse their cub up until they reach one year old and are weaned at 2.5 years old.
Male polar bears sometimes kill the cubs. That is why most females sometimes protect them until they reach an adult. Male adult weight can be reached at around age eight to ten years. Meanwhile, the female can reach when they are five years old.
Those phases of polar bear reproduction above become an important contribution to polar bears’ life. There are long processes inside before finally they decide to build a family.