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June and Cubs Covering Ground – UPDATE May 27, 2013

June rests near cub tree  June rests near cub tree Last night, June’s GPS unit stopped transmitting.  Sue located her today to replace the unit and found the family nearly a mile from the den.  They had to swim to get where they are, so we’re wondering if water was the problem with the unit.  With the cubs well hidden in one of several white pines, June took a nap and Sue decided to leave. 

Beaver damBeaver damSue was crossing a beaver dam when she noticed June was headed her way.  June reached the dam and quietly slipped into the water on this 70F day.  Sue stayed awhile longer to attempt some video and then left.  On her walk out she noticed some fresh bear sign—bear trails, rubs, bites, and hair.  Sue was supposed to have a day off to catch up on home chores until the June crisis came up.

A May 25 video of June foraging is posted at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCpz1dZinn4.

Bear bitesBear bitesLynn spent the day at his computer writing.  His biggest excitement was birds and animals out the window.  The woodchuck family (Marmota monax) moved to a new burrow but still use the burrows under the boiler shed.  A Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) is so used to seeing Lynn through the window that it stayed put when Lynn brought a treat outside for it.  A pair of Evening Grobeaks (Coccothraustes vespertinus) added color to the birds on the railing outside Lynn’s window.

Bear hairBear hairThe highlight, of course, was a bear visit.  4-year-old Samantha and her 3 yearlings stopped by for a visit from who knows where.  Lynn recorded that the family was still together, that Samantha weighed 146 pounds, that her female yearling weighed 31, and that one of her male yearlings weighed 44.5 pounds.  Samantha is a bear we hardly see.  After family break-up in 2010, when she was a yearling (daughter of Braveheart), she moved to an unknown area and didn’t come back for a radio-collar.  We know little about her movements since then.   We would like to radio-collar her, of course, to learn more about where her territory is in relation to her mother’s for a paper we are putting together on mother/daughter relations, but we are at our limit.   

The Duluth News Tribune posted a short update on Lily and family at http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/268252/group/homepage/.

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.


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