Swamped Again
October 12, 2010 – 8:09 PM CDT
Last night, Lily and Hope moved farther from their den—back to the swamp they spent so much time in a week or so ago, nearly 2 miles as the bear walks from the den Lily dug. Sue hiked in to see what they were doing. Why is that area so attractive? Sue did find a huge white pine nearby—and Hope ran to it when something started her. That could be part of the attraction. What were they doing? Nothing much. No dirt on their fur, but they were covered with tamarack needles that were falling like rain in the swamp.
If they are among of the last bears to den up, is Lily really pregnant? Assuming she is pregnant, is she walking off too much fat to maintain a pregnancy when all they are eating is maybe a few grubs and some mature leaves that are poorly digestible? We still believe Lily has enough fat for all this wandering and pregnancy. She was up to 234.5 pounds on August 28 and previous data showed that 176 pounds in fall is enough to carry a pregnancy through to produce healthy cubs.
Braveheart is wandering too, but she has oodles of fat. On September 7 she weighed 413.5. We have confidence in her ability to maintain her pregnancy, but the place she is hanging out is logistically impossible for a den cam due to its remoteness and steep terrain. If she really dens in that remote area, even getting to her to give her a smaller collar for the winter will be a challenge.
Pat and Donna Surface were at a talk Lynn gave in Ely today. They are the ones who created ‘Through The Lens – The Bear Man’ as a labor of love for the bears. Some of you have seen it on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5VXpSq1csI). Lynn told the audience about Lily fans and what they are doing for bears and the region and why the radio-collared bears must be protected. The audience was totally supportive. Afterward, Pat said how glad he was that so many people were working for bears because, “What would the woods be without bears? Unbearable.” It sounded clever at the time.
The Care2 school contest at http://www.care2.com/schoolcontest/2704/054/ still has Ely 1,893 votes in the lead, but 2nd and 3rd places are gaining on us slowly with exactly a month to go.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center