October 12, 2010 : sightings from guides this summer included surprisingly ”frequent sightings of polar bear mothers with triplets,” “In a recent blog post, Selden predicts “prodigious numbers of bears” this year based on unusually high summer sightings.”
Peter Molnars pants on fire.
Curious that both groups are in the western area of Hudson Bay, yet one is apparently seeing something different from the other. Looks like Chartier and Selden pretty much live there. Which to believe?
This whole site is pretty interesting, but this post is relevant to the topic at hand:
http://churchillpolarbears.org/2010/10/gentlemen-start-your-rovers/
What is even more interesting is that this guy apparently works for (the normally alarmist) group WWF!
Afaik, bears have the ability to control litter size to a degree, depending on conditions.
Triplets are an extraordinary challenge to raise for a solitary predator, so they would not be expected unless the mother was exceptionally well fed and could nurse three cubs. Once weaned, there would be long odds against more than one surviving to adulthood.
Report fewer possible in the future to get people interested in visiting to see the last of a species and report large numbers available so people will come soon to see the spectacle of mother and cubs! I agree as to the location for both sets of population figures!
Planned Parenthood, with extra funding from the Obama administration, has been able to set up clinics in the Arctic, giving these mommy polar bears a choice in bettering their lives. Triplets, really, would be a burden.