Baby bears are very small when they are born, compared to the size they will be at maturity. There can be from one to four in a litter. It spends the next months nursing its mother in the den, and growing so it will be capable of following her when she emerges from the den in spring. A mother bear's milk is very rich, and as thick as the thickest whipping cream you have ever seen. The formula we feed baby bears is very thick and it must go through a cross cut nipple which we have to enlarge as the bear gets older and more anxious for its meal to flow faster.
Baby bears are very passionate about their bottles and very possessive.
Baby bears start out laying on their stomachs to nurse and as they grow up, a hand-raised bear really becomes 'hand' raised, because it will stand up on its hind legs and wrap its arms and paws around your forearm. Because of the treacherous claws, it is more than prudent to wear a welder's glove. I have long permanent purple scars on my right arm because I was taking a shortcut at one feeding and eliminated the glove. I thought my arm was being fileted like a fish. The bear was not being aggressive, just possessive.