A grizzly litter of five could very well could be a first for Yellowstone Park, and perhaps for the entire region.
“Five cubs in a litter are the most we have ever observed in the park, at least from 1959 to present — the period of the park's history we have good records for,” National Park Service spokeswoman Linda Veress told Cowboy State Daily.
Federal bear researcher Frank van Manen agreed that it’s likely a first in Yellowstone country.
“A litter of five cubs would be a first for grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem,” said van Manen, the supervisory research biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team.
In Alaska, there have been rare instances of grizzlies with five cubs, and even one with a litter of six, he said.
