Black Bears were solitary animals. Mating pairs stayed together briefly only during the late summer mating season. After the litter (of 1-4) appeared in the midwinter, the female traveled with the cubs. The Eriadorans had an almost cultic obsession with hunting Bears, for they believed a bear-kill to be the ultimate test of one's prowess as a warrior. Both the Eriadoran Northmen and the Lossoth to the north revered and feared Bears. The mystical Bear-cults of both cultures exerted a strong but subtle influence over their societies. The Beiabarn, or Beornings, inherited the Eriadoran Northman tradition according to which the Great Bears had once accompanied Araw in his battles against the Great Enemy.