And then there were the cubs. The cubs we observed were all about one and a half years old. A few sows had two cubs and one had three, but she stayed far up on the river. Cubs will stay with their mother until about age three, sometimes even four. Most of the cubs stayed very close to mom; some, however, were a bit braver and wandered a bit farther off.  But all kept mom in sight, as she is their source of survival, and everything they will learn of the world, they will learn from her.
Their playfulness and curiosity were joy and innocence in motion.