The full moon will reach its peak at 8:53a.m. EST.
The name Bear Moon is learned from the teachings of the 13 Grandmother Moons and the Ontario Native Literacy Coalition, and the naming of the moons also has a cultural teaching that explains the cycle of life and nature within the Indigenous cultures of Turtle Island. (February‘s full moon is also known as the Snow Moon, because, well, there’s lots of snow around.)
This full Bear Moon is certainly something to celebrate because it marks the time of year that bears (black bears specifically) are giving birth to their cubs. In late fall, female black bears look for a spot to hibernate, usually under a tree stump, and make their den cozy by lining it with grass, twigs and leaves.
It is this time of the year (January to February) that the bears give birth to one or two cubs who will stay in the den with her nursing while she continues her sleepy hibernation. When the momma bear and her cubs emerge in April or May, the cubs can open their eyes and have grown to weigh around five pounds each. The cubs will stay with their mother for a full year as they learn and grow.
