June – Jewel confrontationWe gave June a GPS unit yesterday, and this evening we witnessed (via computer) a confrontation between her and her 4-year-old daughter Jewel. In fact, the action was so intense we stopped work on the update to see if Jewel’s yearlings were with her during this altercation. We checked for Fern’s radio signal and found it close enough to Jewel’s signal that any distance between them was likely a result of the mother-daughter spat and not family breakup.
Leaf buds openWhile watching their GPS locations, we saw that both June and Jewel swam across a 75-yard-wide channel. Very likely a chase was going on at the time, but who was chasing whom? Our bet is on June chasing Jewel. Both bears swam back across to their offspring. Currently the two mothers—one with at least one cub and the other with two yearlings—appear to be in a standoff. The cub(s) and yearlings are likely all up trees staying out of the fray while their mothers lunge, blow, and huff at each other. Drama in the bear world.
WoodchuckThe detailed information provided by these GPS units gives us insights into the lives of these bears and reveals events we would have completely missed with our old telemetry data.
Bear Center constructionWith summerlike temperatures for the last couple days, the last patches of snow have all but disappeared, lakes are opening fast, and plowed piles of snow are shrinking. Leaf buds are opening on most shrubs and are swelling on trees. Grass is sprouting in open areas, but we haven’t seen any emerging broad-leaved plants yet.
At the Bear Center, Ted, Honey, and Lucky are in their individual pens, being greeted by visitors in behind-the-scenes tours every hour or two while construction continues in the big enclosure.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.