Juliet sleeping - January 17, 2014When Juliet’s Den Cam went down this day last year, we were frantic we’d miss the births. I raced to her den on snowmobile midday, but a new piece of equipment was needed. Team members got it to me that evening to snowmobile to the den by moonlight. At 8:30 PM, the team checked Juliet’s Den Cam It was working. We and the Den-watchers were relieved to hear no sounds of cubs. The births were still to come. For the short time we had archives recording, the scene looked like the photo to the left. Beyond a couple times she lifted her head for a couple seconds, she slept the entire time. No highlight video of Juliet tonight.
Speaking of births, 2015 looks like a stellar year for cubs in the study area. Fourteen mothers that visit feeding stations in the community should have cubs in the next couple weeks if they haven’t already. We are excited about this unusual opportunity to learn more about how cubs interact with their mothers and siblings. The likely mothers include known reproducers Lily (8), Donna (15), Shadow (28), Braveheart (12), Ursula (10), Shannon (10), Bow (9), and Star (6). They also include possible first-time mothers like Sybil (3), Sophie (3), Aster (4), Jani (4), Oliana (4), and Daisy (4). Faith (4) is another possibility, but she hasn’t visited a feeding station in a couple years.
We look forward to the data these families will provide. It will be a joy to see them doing well. We can’t remember a year with such high potential for cubs. The Black Bear Field Courses should be interesting.
In today’s 5-mnute flashback to September 5, 2007 http://youtu.be/fiUDl5q7C-8, the temperature was 87°F, and the humidity was 88%. No wonder Lily and her mother June are panting and resting in the shade of a cedar swamp where they can put their sparsely furred abdomens against the moist ground. Lily and her mother June are obviously enjoying each other—oblivious that it is bear-hunting season. June’s ribbons add to the play. Toward the end of the video, June and Lily engage in mutual tongue-licking, which we believe is a form of bonding.
On another topic, the Bear Center has so far focused on bear-human interactions. The Northwoods Ecology Hall extends that story to the non-human animals bears interact with, and we want to reflect that in the interactions people see in the enclosure. At present, Snowshoe Hares and the occasional Pine Marten share the space with the bears. Other animals there are the many Eastern Chipmunks, Least Chipmunks, Red Squirrels, and Franklin’s Ground Squirrels.
A rehab facility that is closing wants the Bear Center to be the new home for their River Otter, Red Fox, and Raccoon. It would be best for the animals if the rehabbers could keep the animals themselves to avoid disrupting the strong bonds they have developed, so they are circulating a petition to keep them. But if they must give them up, the rehabbers want them to go to the Bear Center. They know the care they would get there, the freedom they would have to roam the 2 ½ acre enclosure, and the degree to which they would educate the public. These new animals would add different dimensions to the bears’ lives and viewers’ experiences. The rehabbers would spend days with the animals to ease the strain of parting. A problem is that the DNR is standing in the way, as they did when we wanted to get a yearling bear from Wisconsin last year. No reason given. We’ll see how this plays out.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center