Can I be a bear-back rider, Mom? Grizzly cub hitches a ride on his mother's back to keep his paws from getting cold


This little grizzly bear cub found a clever way to keep his little paws from getting cold while his mum hunted for food in the freezing snow.



The months old youngster hitched a ride on his mother’s back, clinging on tightly to keep his paws off the ground.



The mother is so strong that she didn’t seem at all bothered when her cub sat on her back as she worked.



Peekaboo! The bear cub clambers up on to his mother's back and stares in the direction of the photographer

Steve Hinch photographed the pair from a safe distance in the Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.



The 42-year-old said: ‘The grizzly was digging up voles in the meadow and as she had her head down the cub took his chance to climb up.

‘I viewed the bears a couple of times and the cub would climb on to the sow's back and just sit there.



‘Presumably it did this to get out of the snow because I didn't see this kind of behaviour when the snow had melted.’



Tea time? The grizzly bear cub seems interested in what his mother has in her mouth as he looks down from her back

Clever cub: The young grizzly bear spots his chance to hitch a ride when his mother roots around in the snow for voles

Clambering up: The bear cub starts his ascent, seizing his moment while his mother is not paying attention

Mission accomplished: The cub peers out from his new vantage point as his mother continues to work away foraging for food

Mr Hinch, from Montana, said that when he took the shots a large crowd had gathered to watch the pair, who were near a road.



He added that it’s inherently dangerous to be around grizzly bears because they are so powerful, but there were park rangers about to try to keep the bears and the people safe from each other.

