Yellowstone Park has been a land of mystery, fear, and even myth. One of them has rung through the collective imagination for decades, with mysterious creatures supposedly roaming freely in an area full of geysers. One of them, surprisingly, has just been spotted for the first time in history, and experts do not quite believe it. We show you which one it is, and we already tell you that it is as enigmatic and difficult to see as it is tender.
It was a myth, but now it has been confirmed: Yellowstone’s best secret, unveiled after decades
A rather exciting confronting with a wild animal was when the grizzly bear, also known as the supermom, appeared in Yellowstone National Park with none less than five cubs. This is the first record in the history books that a grizzly bear has been spotted nursing such a big litter at one time.
The Supermom was roughly aged between 18 and 20, and she was originally sighted by wildlife researchers in Yellowstone National Park on June 24, 2024, in the region of Roaring Mountain. The biologists were just observing when they witnessed the stunning scene of the grizzly bear with her five cubs crossing the plants.
These are solitary animals, and caring for their young proves to be very difficult for the grizzly bears, which belongs to the family Ursus arctos horribilis. Grizzly bears, particularly the female, reproduce once every two to three years, and on average, they produce two cubs per litter. Do you understand why this is a significant spotting?
Up to 250 days of pregnancy: Five cubs at the same time and a well-known “Supermom”
The duration of pregnancy is between 180 and 250 days, during which cubs are born during the winter when the mother is hibernating. They are born blind and deaf, and they weigh less than a pound, and they are totally dependent on their mother’s milk and protection up to about the first six months.
The sighting of the Supermom with five cubs is a remarkable event for several reasons:
- Rarity: Sows with litters of more than three cubs are very scarce in the grizzly bear population, and there has been documented evidence of such cases in the past one hundred years.
- Survival Rates: Basically, the goal of a grizzly bear is to raise a large litter of cubs, which is a hugely challenging task to them. Cub faces the following total risks: risks due to predation, scarcity of foods leading to risks due to starvation, and last but not the least, risks due to accidents. The fact that the Supermom has reached this stage, being able to raise five cubs, implies that she is a very strong lioness.
- Conservation Implications: Currently, grizzly bears are enlisted as a threatened species in the lower 48 states and probably about 1900 bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The ability of the specific Supermom to successfully care for and raise a large litter could have favorable consequences for attempts to recover the general populace.
Even Jane Goodall has reacted to this confirmed myth: “It’s something very rare”
The sighting of the Supermom and her five cubs has thus created so much fun and curiosity amongst wildlife lovers, conservationists and researchers. “This is a something very rare and wonderful,” noted Dr. Jane Goodall, primatologist and anthropologist. Despite these odds, the Supermom can successfully raise such a large litter, thus underlining the grizzly bears’ strength and option to failure.
Scientists of the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Study Team have been observing the Supermom and the two young ones with the aim of locating their movements within the forest and how the bear interacts with other bears within the park. The findings gathered here will be immensely beneficial for the advancement of knowledge of the grizzly bears and the circumstances influencing progeny rearing.
What do you think about the sighting of Grizzly Bear “Supermom” in Yellowstone? What many media have called a historic event could be a very clear sign of something we told you back in the day: we still don’t even know half of the park, not only because of its size, but also because of the multitude of hoaxes that surround it and mislead people about what is really going on inside. It will not be where the apocalypse begins, but it will be a place where we can learn and a place to get a massive amount of energy.
