In the animal kingdom, a maternity den is a lair where a mother gives birth and nurtures her young when they are in a vulnerable life stage.
It is important the the [sic] female polar bears have fed enough in the spring and summer before fall, because of the scarcity of food on land when winter comes.
[3]Pack members may guard the maternity den used by the alpha female; such is the case with the African wild dog, Lycaon pictus.
[4] The brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea) makes use of maternity dens as a means of nurturing and protecting their cubs.
Sometimes, a hollow log, streambank, rock pile, cave, or dense shrub will play the role as a den.