Man Saved Her Cubs, Then Mama Bears Does the Most Surprising Thing

Have you ever got so caught up in a wildlife documentary that you’ve actually started to feel an attachment towards the animals and, consequently, a real concern with regard to their fate? This article is guaranteed to make you feel that way. Here is a story about confronting adversity, the power of nature, and the kindness of strangers.

Read on to learn more about the heroic tale of a mother bear and her two cubs, defying all odds, to swim across a freezing lake in Russia. It didn’t go quite as planned, however. Read on to discover what happened.

A Tale of Loss, and Love

This story will certainly warm your hearts. It is a story of sacrifice and hope, fear and loss. It is about the unspoken bond of a loving family and two different species uniting with the ultimate goal of saving lives.

After a mother bear left her cubs for dead in the middle of a bitterly cold lake, the cubs were in desperate need of a hero to come and save them. Fortunately, there happened to be some fishermen nearby, who discovered them and, consequently, decided to embark on a rescue mission – but did they succeed?

An Unforgiving Lake

The tale begins on a freshwater lake known as Lake Vygozero, in the northwestern region of Russia. This body of water is so unbelievably cold, that temperatures have been known to reach as low as -4 degrees Fahrenheit, or -20 degrees Celsius (safe to say that this lake is not a major water-skiing destination!)

Given the lake’s large size and freezing temperatures, it is far too cold for humans and most other wildlife (apart from fish!) to swim in. It is impossible to make it from one side to the other without getting a bitter chill. With this in mind – continue reading to find out what happens to the baby bears that were stranded in this unbearably cold lake.

Somewhere to Get to

It is unclear and we will never know why it was that the mother bear decided to cross these waters with her newborn cubs. However, the maternal instinct is powerful in most species, especially bears.

We wonder if it was this that motivated her to keep going, after taking the dangerously risky decision to jump into the bitterly cold water beneath her. There is no doubt that she was a courageous mama bear, however, it was this courage that ultimately put her two little ones in danger. They were not quite as tough as she might have thought.

A Terrible Decision

Unfortunately, the decision to jump into the lake with her two cubs was not a wise one. With the babies clinging onto her for dear life, while she tried her very hardest to power on, her strength was just not enough in the freezing temperature.

We wonder if it was this that motivated her to keep going, after taking the dangerously risky decision to jump into the bitterly cold water beneath her. There is no doubt that she was a courageous mama bear, however, it was this courage that ultimately put her two little ones in danger. They were not quite as tough as she might have thought.

Abandoned by Their Own Mother

At this point, this story takes a painful turn. Mother bears are considered to be selfless animals, willing to sacrifice themselves to protect their young when their maternal instincts kick in. This, however, was not the case for this particular mother bear.

Regardless of her initial intentions, she ultimately ditched her cubs and started to swim away, leaving them helpless in the water. This decision might come as a surprise to wildlife observers, however, when it’s a question of life and death in the wild, survival instincts tend to override maternal ones, as was the case with this mama bear.

The Current Was Too Strong

We have to give her some credit though, as the lake had a very powerful undercurrent, which was already incredibly difficult to swim in. She did try, but ultimately after battling the current with her babies on her back, she found herself being torn apart from her cubs.

After being separated, she tried to save herself, perhaps in the hope that her cubs could make it on their own. After swimming for some time, the mother bear eventually made it safely to land. Sadly, without her baby cubs.