Busy bear day
September 26, 2010 – 9:10 PM CDT
In order to fully document the timing of denning we need to keep those GPS units working. That means replacing the batteries before the units quit. Today was ‘replace batts’ day for 3 bears.
The first was Braveheart. We hadn’t gotten readings from her for 3 hours so I headed out to find her early. She was resting in a swamp about a quarter mile from the dug den we think she may use. Even though I called to her on my way in, she did her usual 3-4 quick steps away before stopping. A few nuts, a quick battery change, and I left. Braveheart became active later in the day and is now 1.4 miles from the dug den. Will she return?
Jo had recently moved from a spot where we suspected she had a den and I wondered what drew her to this new area. From the aerial map it looked like it could be a wet area, but the only way to tell was to hike the 1.5 miles in to check. It was a beautiful sunny fall day and I had my camera in hand to help pass the time. Most of the walk was along sandy or muddy ATV trails with abundant tracks of wolf, deer, and at least one red fox. As I approached Jo, I saw a patch of bare ground and first thought she was at a den. I was wrong. She was guarding a white-tailed deer carcass!
Black bears can and do kill deer fawns in the first few weeks of the fawns’ life, but they rarely if ever kill healthy adult deer. This deer was likely mortally injured by a bow hunter and found by Jo. Wolves could have killed it, but it’s hard to believe Jo could or would stand up to a pack of wolves in her pre-hibernation state. Last week her heart rate was only 49 beats per minute.
I wondered if Jo would be interested in the nuts I brought. Thankfully she was and I was able to change her GPS batteries just fine. After finishing up the nuts, Jo laid down on the deer carcass and fell sound asleep. She was definitely protecting her cache. I snapped a few stills then headed back to find Lily and Hope.
I found them at their dug den. Fresh dirt had been dug out and Lily’s head was covered with sandy dirt. Hope was clean so she likely wasn’t much help. After I changed Lily’s batteries, she walked away from the den. I lagged behind thinking she would return. I heard a commotion and saw the tops of a few balsam saplings swaying, so went to investigate. She was digging a new den.
Lily worked hard. She dug down under a huge rock and pulled out small rocks. Dirt was flying. Hope sat idly nearby and rested her paw on Lily’s back as she dug. Her only assist was to crawl in the partially completed den to check it out at one point. Lily left it unfinished and headed back toward the first den but kept on going. Lily and Hope both went to a nearby lake to drink then began to roam. Lily patiently waited while Hope feverishly dug grubs out of a birch log. At this moment, Lily and Hope are bedded over a half mile south of their den. Will they return? Obviously these bears don’t take choosing a den lightly!
You have expanded Ely School District’s (Ely Esy) lead to 1259 in the Care2 school contest. Great work! The link to vote is http://www.care2.com/schoolcontest/2704/054/.
Thank you again for all you do.
—Sue Mansfield, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center