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Calm After the Fun – UPDATE July 9, 2014

UrsulaUrsula - July 8The Bear Course participants are on their way home.  It seems too quiet, but perhaps that’s good as we get ready for the NABC board meeting on Friday.

The final evening with the group was great.  After the update was posted, Ursula stopped by, checked the view, and gave us a portrait opportunity with as nice eyes as we have captured in a picture.    

Ursula stands to lookUrsula stands to look
July 8
Today, Fern put in an appearance, quickly followed by a male that she didn’t run from.  In checking the picture file, we believe it was her brother Herbie. 

Separately, Fern and Herbie each checked out a painted turtle that was digging a hole to lay eggs.  To our surprise, both had the same reaction.  They each approached to within 1 to 3 feet and hurried away.  Herbie shook his head as he went as if he had smelled something he didn’t like.  Fern didn’t shake her head but ran 15-20 feet to a white pine and looked back at the turtle.  Not the reactions we would expect with a harmless painted turtle, but it does go along with the fact that we have never confirmed bear tracks at the many turtle nests we have seen dug up.  Our few observations of such digging have been of red foxes.  We have never seen a bear show interest in a turtle nest.  

Herbie and FernHerbie and FernFern and Herbie eventually played briefly and walked off together.  In other years, we have seen yearling brothers and sisters briefly spend time together.  Yearling sisters tend to become rivals rather than play partners, probably because they vie for territories.  

Nuts.com is promoting NABC/WRI tomorrow (July 10, 2014) via their social media channels.  Thank you Nuts.com.  To order much needed nuts for the bears, go to http://www.nuts.com/gifts/lily.html.

Our friend and Pondchat Moderator Mikee Martin has died.  We’ll miss him in many ways.  A true bear friend and Lily Fan to the end, he preferred that donations go to the North American Bear Center rather than for flowers.  Thank you Mikee.

Thank you Lily Fans 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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