Hunting pressure extends the time it takes for female brown bears to care for their cubs by one year

study published this week in nature-newsletter
found that many Swedish female brown bears now take care of their cubs for a year longer. The change is related to hunting rules designed to protect female bears and their cubs (Sweden's hunting rules prohibit the hunting of female bears with cubs).a Scandinavian female brown bear and her cub.
Joanie Van de Walle of Sherbrooke University in Canada and colleagues analyzed data collected over more than 20 years on the breeding strategies and survival rates of usus bears, showing that the phenomenon of longer mothers caring for their cubs (from 1.5 to 2.5 years) has been common in the population since the mid-1990s. Although longer care times mean fewer breeding times for female bears, the authors suggest that the increased survival rates of female bears and cubs have greatly compensated for this loss as a result of hunting regulations and intense hunting pressures.the time it takes for female brown bears to care for their cubs. The proportion of brown bear cubs successfully weaned in south-central Sweden between 1987 and 2015 was taken care of by the mother bear for 1.5-2.5 years.
in other animal species, hunting and gathering can accelerate their life cycle, as individuals must start breeding earlier to maximize their chances of reproduction. Instead, the new findings suggest that hunting and certain regulations work together to slow down the life cycle of species. (Source: Science.com)a small family of Scandinavian brown bears, consisting of a mother bear and several cubs to feed, and hunting is prohibited by law.