We have a little Faith

adjusting Jo's radio-collar

Little Faith is with Lily and seems okay. At 2:25 PM, we spotted Lily from a distance at the base of a white pine and saw Faith just beginning to climb the tree. We backed off and left them to rest. They have been at the same bed tree since 10:53 PM last night. The rest and access to Lily for nursing should help Faith recover well from the 0.67 (or more) mile hike. We did not see Hope through all the brush but we assume she was there as well.

Jo scraped the fur off her back crawling out of a rock den last fall

Next we checked in with Jo again to adjust her collar so the GPS unit could better send her location to our computer every ten minutes. She surprised us by being on the move when we located her. She slowly led her cub away from us until she came to a white pine. Her cub quickly climbed and Jo let us adjust her collar and take a heart rate. Her heart rate was 74 and irregular, as is typical of bears in ‘walking hibernation’ for the 2-3 weeks after emerging from their dens. When we visited Lily on Tuesday where she and Hope were shredding the log for grubs, her heart rate was 71 and irregular. Some beats were 3 in 2 seconds and others were slower. The full minute of listening with the stethoscope Lily fans sent last year was 71 beats.

Jo's old bed at base of cedar tree

As we walked out of the woods from visiting Jo we ran across 2 nice bed sites that she had used since leaving the den. It appeared that one had been used while there was still snow on the ground and we found (and collected) her fecal plug near the bed. The second one was at the base of a cedar tree and bark from the cedar had been stripped for use as bedding.

Today, the DNR ordered us to turn over the tissue samples we had placed in formalin jars. A veterinarian from the University of Minnesota did further necropsy work on Jason’s remains at 3:00 PM today. Complete test results on the tissue samples will take time, but we hope to get a preliminary report on the early findings sooner. We have not been guaranteed copies of the report, but as the professionals studying this bear we assume we will be afforded that consideration. This all could be viewed as a good thing that would save us hundreds of dollars in lab fees if they do a thorough necropsy report. We hope the report will provide us all with some much-needed answers.

We are conducting the most thorough long-term study of black bear behavior and ecology ever done. Our research methods open the door to obtaining carcasses that previously would be lost. This gives us a new ability to learn causes of natural death. We want to think the DNR would be proud to work cooperatively with us. We also want to think the DNR would respect our work enough to give protection to the few bears in our intensive study.

We saw that some of you have called or emailed the DNR to express your exasperation. Totally understandable. However, please keep in mind that we are trying to build cooperation with the DNR. We, too, have been frustrated by the way they have handled this, but we are hopeful that all will be made right in the end.

We hope to post a bit of video of Jo and her cub later tonight. Please check for recent ‘bearstudy’ video uploads on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/bearstudy#g/u.

Again, we thank you for your heartfelt support during this time and thank you for all you do.

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

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