To protect their cubs from being attacked by aggressive male bears, mother bears in Northern Europe have devised a remarkable strategy to ensure the safety of their young: “taking multiple partners” indiscriminately and as frequently as possible.
Researchers at the Institute of Integrative Biology at the University of Vienna (Austria) conducted a 20-year survey on brown bears in Northern Europe. During the mating season, from May to July, male bears, driven by a singular urge, focus solely on mating with as many female bears as possible. Meanwhile, female bears that already have cubs are often unwilling to engage in mating. In frustration at being rejected by these female bears, male bears frequently attack and kill the cubs of the female bears as an act of revenge.
From these painful experiences, mother bears have developed a strategy that goes against the “laws of nature,” wherein they proactively seek to “take multiple partners” as often as possible. This way, the male bears come to believe that they are the fathers of the cubs, leading them to refrain from attacking.
According to a report recently published in a scientific journal in Austria, up to 54% of mother bears have employed this “remarkable” strategy to ensure the survival of their offspring.