Why “Mama Bear” Is More Than a Saying—It’s a Survival Strategy

The phrase “mama bear” is defined as being a “strong, aggressively protective mother.” Women who are very protective of their children and will not back down to others to defend them are often given this title. But where does the phrase “mama bear” come from?

As it turns out, there is a very simple answer to this question. Mother bears are very protective of their cubs. They will do anything, fight any animal, and even put their own lives at risk to ensure their cubs stay safe and healthy. Mother bears are among the fiercest mothers. This is why other animals quickly learn they are in for a fight when challenging a mother bear, as demonstrated by a tiger that got into a tussle with a mother sloth bear at a national park—a confrontation that was caught on video.

A Mother Sloth Bear Fearlessly Protects Her Cub from a Tiger

A mother bear is an animal that others in the animal kingdom fear. Mother bears are fearless when it comes to protecting their cubs and will fight with everything they have to ensure their safety. This is precisely what happened when a sloth bear fought a tiger who attempted to harm her cub.

Nat Geo Animals captured footage of a tiger attempting to make a meal out of a sloth bear cub. However, the tiger picked the wrong cub to target. The mother of the cub proved that she would not back down, no matter how ferociously the tiger attacked.

The video explains that the fight broke out after a mother and cub sloth bear came to one of the few watering holes that exist during the summer in Tadoba National Park, India, due to hot temperatures. The mother and cub entered the tiger’s territory, which led the tiger to attack.

Despite the tiger having a weight advantage over the bear, the sloth bear did not back down. She refused to let the tiger attack her cub. This led to a 15-minute fight, in which it appeared the tiger would win. However, the mother bear eventually gained the upper hand over the tiger and chased it into the water. Both walked away from the fight, but the caption in the video stated that both likely sustained injuries from the fight.

If there was ever a time to recognize where the phrase “mama bear” comes from, this video is all the proof needed, as it shows that, regardless of the danger, mother bears will fight to the death if they have to, to protect their beloved cubs.

Mother Bears’ Instincts Protect Their Cubs Before They Are Even Born

Mother bears have instincts to protect their cubs even before they are born. This begins when they choose a spot to den during the winter months. While bears will choose safe places to den for the winter, when a female bear is going to be a mother bear, the choice of den becomes even more critical. Given that her cubs will be born in the den and spend their first months of life there, finding a place for the cubs to be shielded from potential predators during the most vulnerable time of their lives is of utmost importance. Dens will be secluded and potentially even camouflaged to achieve this.

Once those cubs are born, the maternal instincts kick in with full force. No longer is the mother bear living for herself. She is now living to ensure her cubs not only survive, but thrive by teaching them over the following months to years how to hunt, what predators to look out for, and how to stay safe.

If another animal or person crosses paths with the mother bear, she will use all the strength she has to defend the lives of her cubs. In some cases, mother bears will give their lives in an attempt to protect their cubs.

Why People Should Never Come Between a Mother Bear and Her Cubs

There is a reason why people are told to stay away from a mother bear and her cubs at all costs. This is because a mother bear will protect her cubs fiercely until the perceived threat is neutralized. Consequently, in some instances, people will pay for the encounter with their lives.

Too often, people cross paths with baby bears. Believing they have been abandoned or thinking they are not a threat due to their size, people are often willing to approach the cubs at a distance that is uncomfortably close for the mother bear. Mother bears will then charge to save her cubs. According to conservation biologist Sarah Elmeligi, if cubs are spotted, getting out of the area quickly is the best way to stay safe, but running is never a good option.

“If you see cubs without a female, do a quick scan to see if you can locate her,” Elmeligi tells Outdoor Guide. “Then, back away from her and the cubs. Do not run from a bear, ever.”

Elmeligi goes on to say, “Females with cubs are more likely to engage in a defensive attack than a bear on its own. These attacks are, however, extremely rare. Millions of people recreate in bear habitat every year and nothing happens. The key is to try not to surprise a bear.”

If contact is made with a mother bear and her cubs, the best way to handle the situation includes:

• Do not run

• Do not look the bear in the eyes

• Walk away slowly, as long as the bear is not approaching

• Stand ground and look large if the bear charges, as it cannot be outrun

• Do not scream or yell but speak calmly while waving your arms to let the bear know you are not prey but a human

• Have bear spray ready to use

• Use the spray if the bear comes within 25 feet

• If attacked, curl up in a ball on your side or stomach

• Try not to panic while the attack occurs

• Play dead

If an attack has occurred, ensure the bear has left the area before attempting to leave. 70% of fatal grizzly bear attacks occur because the mother bears believe their cubs are threatened. By remaining aware of surroundings while out in bear country, most encounters with brown bears, or black ones for that matter, can be avoided.

Mother Bears Spend More Time Caring for Cubs

In some populations, such as brown bears in Sweden, mother bears have been observed staying with their cubs for an extra year compared to previous decades. This is because mother bears have learned that having cubs with them increases their chances of survival compared to adult female bears without cubs.

According to a 2018 study published in Nature Communications, brown bears in Sweden have been caring for their cubs for 2.5 years, rather than the traditional 1.5 years, as they have seemingly become aware that having cubs makes them off-limits to hunters.

It may seem counterintuitive that bears recognize they are safer with cubs. However, there has been a steady increase in the amount of time that mother brown bears care for their cubs over the past two decades. During this time, bears that cared for their cubs for 2.5 years had a 2.14 times greater chance of survival than those that cared for their cubs for only 1.5 years. Therefore, while fewer cubs were born to the mother bears who stayed with their cubs for longer, these mother bears lived to older age and helped ensure their cubs survived their first few years of life by providing protection as long as they did.

Bears Live Close to Humans to Protect Cubs, Study Says

Bears tend to approach areas where people live when food is involved. Otherwise, bears would prefer to be as far away from people as possible, given the high threat level. Therefore, imagine the surprise of researchers when they discovered that mother bears were choosing to live near people in Sweden to protect their cubs from predatory male bears.

A 2016 study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, found that mother bears who successfully reared their bear cubs through the first year of life were those who chose to live in areas close to villages where young trees were thick and plentiful. This allowed the bears to keep an eye on people but made people completely unaware they were there, according to Sam Steyaert, the study’s lead author and a wildlife biologist at Norwegian University of Life Sciences.

“These mothers select the densest vegetation, especially when they’re close to humans,” Steyaert explains to Science. “That way they can be very close to people, but the people don’t know they’re there.”

The mother bears choose these locations at the same time that male bears want to mate, which coincides with the infanticide of the cubs. According to an ecologist at Oregon State University, William Ripple, who was not involved in the study, the location chosen to raise bear cubs shows preplanning on the mother bears’ part.

“It’s surprising because it shows that female bears are smart enough to think way ahead,” Ripple tells Science.

Despite bears generally making their way into civilization to go after food, these bears never strayed into the villages near where they were hiding. According to Scott Creel, a wildlife ecologist at Montana State University, this was proof that ‘double negatives’ can have a significant effect on survival, as the bears treat the ‘enemy of their enemy as a friend.’

Female Bears Can Become Adoptive Mothers to Cubs

Bear cubs will stay with their mothers until they are ready to go off into the world alone. This can be anywhere from two years or longer after birth. However, in some cases—whether because the mother bear becomes interested in mating too soon or something happens to end her life—cubs may be left without a mother far too early. When this happens, their likelihood of survival is not great.

However, there are some female bears who occasionally take on abandoned cubs and raise them as their own. When this happens, not only do they become adoptive mothers to the cubs, but the mother bears give the abandoned cubs a second chance at life.

In 2015, Holly, a brown bear at Katmai National Park in Alaska, came to the aid of a 1.5-year-old cub who had been abandoned by his mother. Holly, who also had a cub of her own, coaxed the bear cub out of a tree it had been clinging to. Not only did Holly teach the cub how to fish, but she also brought the cub into her family.

The trio became so close that when it came time for hibernation, the three settled into a den together for the winter.

This was not the first time that Holly had adopted a bear cub. She did the same in 2007, after coming across a bear cub who had a broken leg. This bear had also been abandoned. Holly stayed with the bear and saved its life.

While it is not common for bears to adopt other cubs, especially if they have one or more of their own, these massive animals occasionally surprise those observing them. The motherly instinct is so strong that when seeing another cub in need, some mother bears have a natural inclination to help, proving that while nature can at times be cruel, it can also be beautiful.

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