| Photographing three polar bear cubs resting with their mother in the Boreal Forest of Manitoba on a sunny day was a rare treat. I haven't come across too many polar bear families with triplets that looked as healthy as this family in quite a few years. Polar bear triplets are becoming an increasingly rare anomaly in this new age of Global Warming. With rising temperatures in the Arctic and changing Sea-ice dynamics in Western Hudson Bay the polar bears are facing more difficulty surviving. The sea-ice in Hudson Bay is melting earlier and freezing later causing additional stresses providing food for the newborn cubs. The Ring Seal is the primary food source for polar bears, however due to the decreased ability to hunt Ring Seal on a stable ice platform the polar bear's chance for survival has been diminished somewhat. Female polar bears usually mate on the sea-ice in mid April to Mid June depending on region. Once fertilized with the male sperm the female then goes through a process of "delayed implantation" which is a physiological postponement of egg implantation to the uterus. In late Summer or early Fall the egg is then implanted to the uterine wall and begins to grow. The gestation period is about 195-230 days until the female gives birth, usually to two cubs in late November to early January. The cubs weigh about 1-1.5 lbs. at birth and rapidly grow 10 - 15 times that weight by the time they leave the den with their mother at the end of February to mid March. | 
