Jewel and cub - March 8, 2012Wow, what a difference cleaning the lens made! Finally, a clear picture.
And visiting the den and seeing Jewel’s cubs through the eyes of a high def video camera was an eye opener. It showed that one of the cubs has wide open blue eyes, and the other has eyes open only a little. We think the one with the eyes still closed is the female from what we’ve seen earlier of the female nursing on the left set of nipples. That’s where the one with the closed eyes went to nurse today.
Jewel - March 8, 2012In addition to cleaning the lens, we got a lot done in a little time. We teamed up with Ted Parvu to get the most out of our den visit for this week. Ted shut down the den cam system to install a new charge controller that should eliminate the loud buzz and jumpy image when the batteries are overcharged on sunny days. He also briefly went to the den with us to change the SD card in the new motion-activated video camera outside the den. This new video camera is ready all the time to record any wolves, coyotes, lynx, bobcats, fishers, pine martens, etc., that might check out Jewel’s den.
Jewel deep in den - March 8, 2012
While filming in the den, we couldn’t see what we were getting. A wild blizzard hit while we were at the den. It quickly made the viewing screen un-viewable. We could see only enough to aim the camera but not enough to tell if any cubs were visible. Back at the Research Center, we were pleasantly surprised at the crisp quality and many views of the lookalike cubs. We’re guessing their weights now at 3 to 3 ½ pounds—probably not as big as Juliet’s cubs. It was good to get the high quality video and sound recordings as Jewel nursed the cubs most of the time we were there.
Video of yesterday’s highlights in Jewel’s den is posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ExAFrBcR4w.
Lynn filming at Jewel's den - March 8, 2012While we were out, Lucky and Honey had some interactions. We heard that Honey made overtures to Lucky and they touched noses, but a few minutes later they had another brief swatting spat—maybe 5 seconds. By the time we got back from the woods, they were sleeping peacefully. They are together by choice and seem determined to stick it out as they develop their relationship. Mating season is only a couple months away. It will be interesting to see how that works out.
Volunteer applications continue to come in. Thank you for the difference this can make. Potential volunteers can click the Volunteer tab at bear.org to learn more about the program and access the application. You can help onsite or from home—no matter where you are.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center