Two Brown Bear Cubs Sparring Upright, Katmai
Katmai National Park and Preserve
Two brown bear cubs stand on their hind legs and spar with their front paws in open meadow in Katmai. Sibling play like this is how young bears build strength, coordination, and the social toolkit they will need once they separate from their mother at two to three years old. It is also relentless entertainment to watch.
Only around half of Katmai's brown bear cubs make it through their first year, so every bout of sibling play in the summer is also useful practice for the harder stuff ahead. The more they test each other now, the better their odds.
Brown bear cubs, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Ursus arctos. Photo © copyright by Carl Donohue.