Braveheart in the Spotlight
October 16, 2010 – 9:44 PM CDT
With Lily and Hope still hanging out where they ended last night about a mile and a half from their den, Braveheart took center stage today.
The article by Dennis Anderson described the hurdles we face in getting legal protection for radio-collared bears wearing bright ribbons. He did his homework, including a visit to Braveheart with photograph Brian Peterson. We were disturbed to read the DNR official’s quote that if we push for protection for radio-collared bears the DNR would re-examine our permit. Nevertheless, we must have protection. There is a place to comment about the video and article on the Minneapolis Star Tribune website.
Braveheart remained in the spotlight later today when we found her in a rock den as we had suspected last night. The den stands like a castle in the forest. It is about as good a den as we have ever seen. She is deep inside a rock cave that provides the ultimate in protection against intruders. The walls are so narrow, we don’t know how she backed her 400 pounds 10-12 feet in.
Earlier, when we had seen the location on Google Earth, we were excited about the potential for a den cam. Braveheart will almost certainly produce her usual litter of three cubs this winter. We had seen that her location was less than a thousand feet from electricity and telephone across a narrow bay where an old friend lives. Our friend canoed us across the bay and accompanied us to Braveheart’s castle.
Our hopes for a den cam were dashed when we saw Braveheart so deep in the den with so many leaves piled in front of her that there was little a den cam would show.
We wondered if one of us could crawl in and place the camera in a way that would reveal more. Two problems. (1) The walls are too narrow. (2) We are hesitant to crawl in and corner her because Braveheart in a den is not the calm bear the video shows her to be out in the woods.
Each bear has his or her own personality and individual quirks. In a den, Braveheart is defensive. She was defensive again today. She expressed fear as we looked in. She blew, showing her anxiety, and she repeatedly clacked her jaws showing her fear.
Even out in the woods, Braveheart has never been one to readily accept “It’s me, bear.” She knows our voices but has to verify our identity by sight and smell as well as sound before she will demonstrate trust. That’s why it took Lynn and the newspaper reporters nearly an hour of following her as she circled unseen in deep cover. Finally, she identified Lynn and settled down. Very few people ever see this bear, and we feel honored that she will trust us.
But on this very windy day, she was especially on edge. We looked and left. The batteries in her GPS unit are fresh as of yesterday. That means we can collect data on her activities for another 10 days or so. The huge rock over her den keeps her from sending GPS signals when she is in the den. She only sends signals when she is outside. That means we can sit in the office and watch the computer and see how many hours she spends in and out of the den day and night. We’ve never been able to monitor that before. Now, with GPS data, it’s easy to monitor that from our office miles from the den.
We thank you for the fundraiser you have been conducting during the September 1 through October 17 bear hunting season. With one day to go, you have raised nearly $25,000 for the Wildlife Research Institute. And your donations to the North American Bear Center since January now total nearly $395,000. Amazing. This is yet another measure of your support.
And you are keeping Ely Schools in the lead to win $20,000. The score tonight is 2,697 for Ely Schools to 882 votes for the second place school. To vote, go to http://www.care2.com/schoolcontest/2704/054/.
Thank you for all you are doing.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center