Jewel and cubs - Feb 29, 2012When we wrote the update a couple days ago about how long would it be before Lucky and Honey argue, we didn’t know that at 2:22 PM that afternoon they had argued loudly with 3-4 seconds of violent-looking body language. That prompted a quick call on our part to the Curator at the Bear Center who said everything is fine. It didn’t look to us in the video we saw on a Facebook page that there was any biting—just loud threatening. We don’t understand why they are together in there. The mind of the black bear can be baffling.
Be sure to turn your speaker volume down if you watch this video of their confrontation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB-xXNf6bIE&;feature=channel_video_title.
Are those cub eyes open? - Feb 29, 2012Some Lily Fans say they are catching the beginnings of eye shine from Jewel’s cubs, which would mean their eyes are opening. We can’t see it ourselves in the videos people have sent, but it is time—38 days, about 5 ½ weeks—that eyes should be opening if they are to be fully open by 6 weeks like the captive bear literature says.
A video of yesterday’s highlights in Jewel’s den is posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gZr-WAfOhw.
Lily starts grooming Faith - Feb 29, 2012Another Lily Fan sent an old Wild Kingdom program that we had never seen or heard of—Marlin Perkins’ favorite moments from the many programs he and Jim Fowler made. The bears were in it—about 5 minutes into the program at http://tinyurl.com/Wild-Kingdom-Bears. It all happened more than 30 years ago. Lynn looked a lot younger. Guess we all did!
The Volunteer Program web pages went live this evening! Check them out at http://www.bear.org/website/volunteer.html.
Grooming turns to play - Feb 29, 2012There is so much Lily Fans and volunteers over the years have done to make the research and education here what it is. It’s the only way such a small staff and small budget can come close to keeping up. It’s not surprising, then, that the newsletter the staff is putting together now reflects this. It’s basically many stories of what Lily Fans, other volunteers, and a couple of angels have done these past couple years to make a bigger difference for bears and people’s attitudes than we ever dreamed possible.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center