Mama bear nursing her two cubs, Lake Clark Nationa Mouse Mat

Bears are clever animals and in Lake Clark National Park, they’ve learned to take advantage of human presence. Mothers with cubs are particularly aware of the danger male bears represent for their offspring. Almost one-in-three cubs are killed by males during the mating season, which extends from early May to mid July. While nursing, the female is not ready to mate and so the male will do anything necessary to reproduce and pass on their DNA, including kill another bears cubs.