Six bear cubs, mom, spotted exploring tree on Manitoba property

Betty Matchizen was left counting black bears as she drove by her farm yard in Thalberg, Man.

She said she pulled over on the side of the road on the weekend after seeing six black bear cubs and their mom hanging around an oak tree on the property.

"It's quite amazing," she said.

Seeing black bears is pretty common for Matchizen, but not this many at once, noting she sees around six to eight bears a year.

"Usually I've only seen three (together) before."

The bears were very alert she said and were trying to get down from the tree when she was there.

She's been keeping an eye on things to see if they will return, but no luck yet. She thinks it might be possible that they found the cornfield nearby.

"I'm assuming they will be back, unless they found the cornfield. Then they may not be," she laughed.

She isn't 100 per cent sure if all the cubs are from the mom or if she adopted some of them, but if they are all siblings, she thinks it could be a record.

"Somebody had mentioned to me that it could be a record for Manitoba."

CTV News Winnipeg reached out to the province for details but was told it doesn't track that information for bears.