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Holly, Gathering, & Moose - UPDATE November 2, 2014

Holly emerges from her denHolly emerges from her denHolly has been hard at work and is probably working at this moment. When staff checked on her today, they found her emerging from the den she has been digging. The jagged rocks in front of it are rocks she excavated and rolled out in the last few days. Since finding the partially completed den a few days ago, we have been talking about raking up a couple bags of leaves for her. We hadn’t seen a lot of leaves around the den for her to rake in. Holly noticed that, too, and brought in straw—probably from Lucky’s den (Holly’s old den). The picture of the entrance shows how small the opening is. Inside the den, jagged rocks we photographed a few days ago are gone. The bedding is a combination of leaves and straw. The den extends only 3 feet into the hillside. Now, the talk at the Bear Center is all about a Den Cam and Trail Cams, which we hope can survive Holly’s curiosity.

Holly's DenHolly's Den Close-upClose-up Inside Holly's DenInside Holly's Den

The Hinckley Gathering of Lily Fans yesterday was great. The enthusiasm from everyone was contagious and uplifting. The joy of meeting Lily Fans new and old was sprinkled with ideas for spreading the word that will soon be brought to fruition. The hard work by Sarah Zirbes and her team to create this annual event deserves thanks. I’m already looking forward to next year.

American RobinAmerican RobinThe 3-hour DNR moose lecture of a couple days ago (October 30) was interesting. I’d hoped to get insights about the moose decline to include in the Northwoods Ecology Hall moose exhibit. The speakers laid out how they gather data and how GPS collars provide unprecedented data on moose travels, but so far the data haven’t revealed an explanation for the decline. They discussed why mothers often abandoned calves after biologists used helicopters to find and radio-collar newborn calves. The speaker mentioned that all of the mothers had experienced helicopters as part of being fitted with their own radio-collars. Helicopters were used to spot, hover over, and dart the cows so biologists can measure the cows, draw blood, and fit the collars. 2015 Calendar2015 CalendarThe cows learned that helicopters can reach out and hit them with darts while whipping up high wind mixed with loud noise, and a huge presence overhead. Presumably, individual moose responses to helicopters vary, as do most behavioral responses. They showed that abandonments were much fewer when a couple people quietly hiked in and radio-collared calves of previously radio-collared mothers, rather than scaring the mothers with helicopters. Every new project has hurdles to get over. This long-term, state-funded project should eventually yield interesting data for the Northwoods Ecology Hall Moose Exhibit.

I saw the proof of the 2015 Shadow’s Clan Calendar today. It is a collector’s item. It is the most spectacular calendar we have made—perhaps the top bear calendar ever made. I don’t know how it could be better. The 168 pictures (yes, 168) include some of the best bear pictures I have ever seen—needle sharp fur, well lighted eyes, with poses and expressions that will capture hearts. The updated Shadow’s Clan page now lists 197 clan members. The text focuses on how bears live and how we study them—loaded with facts and pictures. It needed four extra pages to include it all.

We were surprised to see a robin this late in the fall here.

Thank you for all you do.

Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.


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