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Quill, GiveMN Starts at Midnight - UPDATE November 16, 2016

We hope to see Quill tonight. Last night he was here only once—7:42 to 8:57 PM and ingested only 1 ½ pounds (3 cups) of formula and a half pound of nuts. Crow from September 30, 2016Crow from September 30, 2016He sat doing nothing a lot. We didn’t see what direction he left at 8:57 PM. He just disappeared. The trail cam by the Quill House didn’t show him. We have food waiting for him now at 7:37 PM. Peggy has been shelling peanuts for him. The trail cams will tell the story of tonight.

We hope he comes at least for a couple more days. Snow is forecast  tomorrow evening, good for tracking. Up to a foot is forecast, though, which could cover his tracks before we see them. Or does he feel the snow coming? Could he already be headed to some pre-selected area for denning? We may know more tomorrow. Many questions are never answered.

Out the window, the crow is still coming although most left for Duluth or farther south a couple weeks ago. Also, out the window, ripples and swirls on Woods Lake didn’t fit a beaver, muskrat, or any duck I know. Finally, the animal gave us a good look—an otter. No pictures.

At midnight tonight, GiveMN begins. For many of you, it began a couple weeks ago. Thank you for your early donations. Thank you also for making the Bear Center a better, more educational place the last couple years. The camping exhibit has been especially popular. The enthusiasm generated by the improvements, inside and out, made the North American Bear Center Ely’s number one destination on Trip Advisor.

This year, GiveMN donations will go toward improving communication to youth. To do that, we want to improve hands-on learning, upgrade the Cub Room, and, for older youth, add a couple touch-screen kiosks in the Bear Center. Actually, plans are to make various levels of teaching available on the touch-screens, some of it through games being developed by volunteers. You can click here to donate. And, you can follow your/our progress and watch special features on the Special Events Camera on bear.org by clicking here.

Thank you for all you have done and are doing.

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


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