Lily and Hope continue to break the mold of our expectations. As we write this, Lily and Hope are playing vigorously while the cubs nurse uninterrupted. Lily usually holds still when the cubs make their motor-like hum. Is play a more powerful stimulus than the hum of nursing?
In fact, the whole scene of Hope playing vigorously with Lily and gently with the cubs is a surprise. Some of her play with the cubs seems a little rough, but the cubs seldom protest, so we assume it’s okay. All we can do is watch and wonder.
While we wonder what passions and motives drive them, we are intrigued by the similarities with human behavior. Does that statement skate the edge of anthropomorphism? We don’t think so. One would expect some behavioral similarities considering the similarities in our genes and hormones. New technology will continue to open the natural world for people to see, appreciate, and analyze. We are all learning together. All the behavior is open to analysis. Video of Part I of today’s den life can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnlCqOjUzCg.
We are still glowing with gratitude over the way you selected the names. We were not surprised that Faith and Jason rose to the top from your suggestions in the weeks before the contest began. The top three names for each cub came to us for approval, so we could exclude any name that had been used before or was inappropriate. No problems. We sent them on just as they came to us. After we said “no problem” for the top 3 names, Team Bear sent them on to the winner of the drawing to make the final choice. She chose to remain anonymous in case not everyone agreed with her choices, but it was fitting that she happened to select the two most popular names. We were delighted although we soon realized it could get confusing writing about Jason the human and Jason the bear. Jason (the human…) was delighted while we are sure anyone named Rocket, Solomon, Clint, etc., was disappointed. Hopefully, Lily will have more cubs. These were the top six names for each cub and the number of votes each received.
Male cub:
| Jason | 196 |
| Sawyer | 170 |
| Rocket | 148 |
| Solomon | 39 |
| Clint | 37 |
| Jack (tie) | 34 |
| Buck (tie) | 34 |
Female cub:
| Faith | 368 |
| Willow | 154 |
| Violet | 148 |
| Joy | 73 |
| Rose | 60 |
| Clover | 46 |
Mrs. Earley’s Kindergarten class at Mountain View Elementary School in Kingsley, PA involved their families and their whole school in the naming contest. In a democratic process they then voted on and submitted the names Violet and Ranger. Mrs. Earley uses the den cam in her classroom daily and says “I was truly amazed to find the level of independent writing that my children produced when they choose to write about Lily, Hope and the twin cubs. They have also cleared the shelves in the library of ‘bear’ books at the primary level. The children are not only writing and reading about the bears but are becoming experts as they ask questions. I love watching them becoming true little scientists as they observe, reflect and problem solve.” Truly heartwarming!
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center