The Incredible Story Of A Mama Bear Forced To Leave Her Cubs To Drown

We are told that love has no bounds and that it can take many forms, indeed there is no stronger bond than the love between a mother and her babies. Yet, the story of the mother bear and her cubs will go against all that we believe when it comes to the love between a mother and her child.

Sometimes we are surprised by the behaviors of those looking out for themselves, and then again sometimes we can be surprised by the behaviors of those who go above and beyond for others. Those are the circumstances where real love has no bounds.

The Freezing Lake

In the Northeastern tip of Russia lies the freshwater Lake Vygozero, which is where the story of the mother bear takes place. Given its geographical location, it’s not surprising that temperatures can be as low as -20 Celsius (approx. -4 Fahrenheit).

Freezing temperatures such as these are too dangerous for humans to swim and therefore poses challenges to fisherman on the lake as well as some of the wild animals who like in the area. Keep reading to see living proof of this.

A Difficult Terrain

If you’ve ever hiked in difficult terrain you’ll know how challenging the outdoors can be, especially when the weather conditions aren’t easy, living out in the wild is never an easy affair.

Sometimes, this is the same for animals, and in this story, the mother bear realizes this as she tries to cross a freezing lake with two cubs. However, what she did not foresee was how difficult this would be for her two baby cubs

Crossing the Lake

So, what happened when the mother bear tried to cross the lake? she jumped into the lake with her two cubs on her back, she was certain that her babies were able to tag along with her.

Her cubs assumed they would be able to cling onto her back but very early on it became clear that the cubs would not be able to keep up with the speed of their mother, and as she too realized that her babies might not make it… at this point something amazing occurred.

Breaking Free

Despite everything we know about mothers protecting their young and even sacrificing their own lives for the sake of their babies, this mother bear decided to break free from her cubs and left them in the lake as she continued to swim to the other side alone.

Of course, this isn’t what we expect from a mother, but sometimes in the wild, there are no rules and it’s everyone for themselves.