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Mother and cubs

All the Single (Bear) Ladies

Telling the males from the females on the Katmai Bear Cams can be difficult, but it’s not impossible.

The heads of adult female brown bears appear smaller in proportion to their bodies than males’ noggins, and their ears are generally more wide-set.

You can look for genitalia, which is the easiest way to identify male bears, but you can also determine the sex of adult bears by watching them urinate. A female bear pees in a squatting position, urinating towards the rear while a male bear will urinate forward. This is all very educational.

The presence of cubs is an absolute indicator that you are looking at a female. Male bears play no role in raising young.

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