Behavior of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) cubs post-den emergence at the Detroit Zoo.

In the wild, female polar bears (Ursus maritimus) with cubs may spend extended periods of time within the den following initial emergence. As a result, studying behavioral development of cubs at the denning site has been difficult and unreliable. Although care staff at zoological institutions have easier access to animals, every effort is made to minimize intrusions to maternal groups, which presents research limitations.

Behavioral development of a captive polar bear (Ursus maritimus) cub in the maternal den.

Two female polar bear (Ursus maritimus) cubs were born to mother Suka at the Detroit Zoo on November 17, 2020. One cub (Laerke) was hand-reared out of medical necessity, while the other cub (Astra) was mother-reared. Using audio-equipped video cameras previously installed in the maternal den, staff were able to conduct uninterrupted continuous monitoring on Suka and Astra for an unprecedented 12 weeks.

Picture object recognition in an American black bear (Ursus americanus).

Many animals have been tested for conceptual discriminations using two-dimensional images as stimuli, and many of these species appear to transfer knowledge from 2D images to analogous real life objects. We tested an American black bear for picture-object recognition using a two alternative forced choice task. She was presented with four unique sets of objects and corresponding pictures.