Description
This 2015 $20 fine silver coin of the extremely popular “Baby Animals” series, and features a heartwarming side profile image of a black bear cub. All previous coins in the series quickly sold out from the Mint, and this coin is likely to sell out quickly as well. Mintage is limited to just 7,500 coins. HST/GST exempt.
The Design:
This selective colouring $20 fine silver coin showcases young black bear cub with its mother in a natural setting. A three-quarter profile of the bear cub provides a view of its features, from the facial expression to the cub's paws. The cub is seated in front of a salmonberry plant; both are engraved and enhanced by the use of selective colouring. On the left side of the cub, the sow appears from beyond the image.
The Black Bear:
This mammal can weigh from 90 to 270 kgs, and have an average size of 1.8 metres long. They typically live in forests and are excellent tree climbers. Despite their name, black bears can be blue-gray or blue-black, brown, cinnamon, or even (very rarely) white. They have an average life span of 20 years.
Black bears are very opportunistic eaters, with most of their diet consisting of grasses, roots, berries, and insects. When winter arrives, they spend the season dormant in their dens, feeding on body fat they have built up by eating all summer and fall. They make their dens in caves, burrows, brush piles, or other sheltered spots.
Female black bears give birth to two or three cubs in mid-winter and nurse them in the den until spring, when all emerge in search of food. The cubs will stay with their mother for about two years.
