Adorable Pictures Show The Bond Between Newborn And Mother Polar Bear (13 Photos)

Sometimes little feet get tired and need a bit of help from mum - even if those little feet happen to belong to a polar bear. So it's lucky this particular mama bear was willing to be the cub's ride for the day. This adorable pictures is just one of the photos captured by photographer David Jenkins, who spent 10 years capturing the bond between newborn and mother.

Baby polar bears are completely helpless and they are blind at birth. They are highly vulnerable to potential predators at this stage. Arctic foxes usually hunt baby polar bears inside the den. Polar bear cubs stay with their mothers for as long as 26 – 29 months. The typical weaning period lasts about two years. The mother bear is likely to go through strategic weaning in which there is a limited suckling. She will then be able to breed again. This makes the reproductive interval of 3 years in polar bears. The cubs are thought to imitate mother's hunting methods even though they are too young to hunt.