Polar Bear experts are on hand during Polar Bear Cam season to weigh in on your frequently asked questions!
Today’s Question: What’s the difference between a COY and a yearling?
Polar bear cubs are born in a maternal den in March or April. The cubs grow rapidly, thanks to the calories in their mother’s rich milk. “During that first year of life cubs are called COYs, which stands for “cubs of the year,” said Alysa McCall, Polar Bears International’s field programs manager and a polar bear biologist. “We call cubs that are between 1 and 2 years of age ‘yearlings.’ Yearlings will start helping their mother hunt seals.” Cubs are mature enough to leave their mother at about 2.5 years old and are then called subadults. At about 5 years old when the bears become mature enough to mate, they are called adults.
