First cub seen on new Game Commission bear webcam

It didn’t take long for the new Pennsylvania Game Commission webcam to show one bear cub tucked under momma bear Tuesday evening.

There are more cubs, but just how many, the game commission isn’t sure.

In most of the webcam views, the mother black bear has had her back to the camera.

The game commission just unveiled the new live webcam in a bear den under a porch of a camp in an undisclosed location in Monroe County.

In the den are a sow and at least two cubs, maybe more, said Travis Lau, game commission spokesman on Wednesday.

Typically, cubs are born in mid-January and emerge from their dens in the first week of April, according to the game commission. During hibernation, bears are alert and active but don’t leave the den nor do they eat or drink.

The owners of the camp discovered the bears beneath the porch the called the game commission, according to Lau.

From there, they gave the commission and HD on TaP, which webcams a bald eagle nest in Hanover, access to mount a webcam in the den.

”There are not people at the camp all of the time,” Lau said. “But it is pretty frequently used on weekends.”

Since the entrance to the camp is on the enclosed side of porch, “there’s little chance of a surprise meeting between someone coming out the door and a bear emerging from beneath the porch.”

While this is not a typical denning area for black bear, commission officials believe that is is safe and have educated the camp owners on the bears. “They’re excited to be part of this,” Lau said.

Pennsylvania’s black bears usually are born in January and begin walking in about eight weeks, according to the commission. They leave the den when three months old.

“As we move through March, the cubs will become more visible and active,” the commission said in a Facebook post Tuesday.