Interactions between brown bear cubs of different mothers in Kashmir, India

Abstract: The social lives of brown bears (Ursus arctos) are still largely a mystery, partly because of the difficulty in studying the topic. Here we report on the interactions between 2 Himalayan brown bear family units at a dump site roughly 53 km outside of Srinagar, Kashmir, India. Brown bear cubs from 2 different mothers were observed playing together between 3 September and 16 October 2021, on 13 discrete occasions. These play sessions lasted 20–80 minutes (mean H 24.3 ± 4.59 standard deviation). Each interaction ended with the family units leaving independently. The relationship between the mother bears is not known, though we speculate that they may be related. Although the interactions do not constitute adoption, they do demonstrate a level of tolerance by mother bears toward cubs to which they did not give birth.