It May Be the Biggest-Ever Grizzly Litter at Yellowstone

Don't be surprised to hear about a spike in grizzly bear sightings at Yellowstone National Park in the coming years—the park is currently in the midst of a veritable baby boom in cubs, reports Cowboy State Daily. Veteran watchers and photographers have counted no fewer than 18 this spring and summer. "That's more than we've ever seen," says Bill Hamblin, who's been cataloguing the park's bears for years. The most remarkable sighting has been a mama bear with five cubs, according to WyoFile. See video here shot by nature photographer Stan Mills. Another video is here.

If all five are from the same litter, it would be the largest ever documented at Yellowstone. However, it's possible the mother "adopted" one or two of the cubs from another sow, which has previously happened, says Frank van Manen, leader of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team. "Whether it was an adoption or whether it truly is a five-cub litter, it just amazes me that every year there's some new surprise to us, even after intensively studying this population for more than 50 years," he says. "I just think that's cool." (More Yellowstone National Park stories.)