Exhausted mama bear photographed feeding her cubs

By Sophie Norris via SWNS

This exhausted bear was captured looking like a typical tired mom as she slumped against a tree while feeding her tiny cubs - proving the experience of mothers is universal.

Kristen Bird had just arrived home from grocery shopping when excited daughter Jocelyn Henry, 12, called her over to enjoy the rare sighting of the frazzled mama bear with her babies.

The 49-year-old sat with Jocelyn and her other daughter Emily Henry, 16, and quietly watched the furry creature flop down against a tree in their garden and tandem feed her offspring for 10 minutes.

In the beautiful images, the huge new mom lays out "like a stuffed teddy bear" and even appears to close her eyes, as her adorable cubs snuggle into her chest to feed.

After posting the special moment on social media, the nurse claims she was inundated with comments from other moms who all related to the typical tired look on her face.

Kristen, from Rossland, British Columbia, Canada, said: "The bear looked like a typical tired mom.

"I explained to my girls what a rare sight this was, I'd never seen anything like that.

"She was obviously exhausted. She just flopped down like a stuffed teddy bear and the bears just crawled on her. It was like an open invitation.

"She was leaning up against the big Douglas fir tree, you can see how relaxed she is.

"It's actually not great in this area to have a bear that comfortable close to your home.

"She sat there for a good five to 10 minutes. She was sitting there for a long time, we were just watching."

Kristen has seen bears in her local area before and said they often wandered near her home, but she had never been lucky enough to see a feed before.

Kristen said: "I came home from grocery shopping and my daughter said 'Mom look out the window, look what's happening.'

"She said, 'look, it's the mom and the two babies.'

"We live in a small mountain town. We have a lot of bears and it's not uncommon to see bears at our house daily.

"This one we had never seen. I had never seen a bear breastfeeding its cubs before.

"The reaction to the pictures [on social media] has been about what a rare amazing sight it was or about relating to being a mom and the look of fatigue.

"It was especially relatable for moms of twins.

"In the comments, everyone is saying 'this was me' or 'this is what I look like.'

"I had no idea how big the post would get. I'm going to share the picture with the local health office for the lactation clinic."

Kristen's viral post about the special sight has since been shared more than 9,000 times and attracted more than 3,500 reactions and comments - many from fellow moms.

A mom-of-one said: "I feel you mama bear."

Another mom said: "No way! That's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."

Another Facebook user said: "She looks exhausted and I can relate."

A fellow Canadian said: "That mama bear looks relaxed and tired out, just like all mamas with babes."