All safe. All five of the GPSed bears are far from civilization although Jo and her cub brushed close to a residence on her way to the boonies. We can rest easy. The five bears are (1) 4-year-old Lily and family, (2) 10-year-old June, (3) 3-year-old Jo and cub, (4) 8-year-old Juliet, and recently GPSed (5) 11-year-old Dot.
Coca-cola is holding a new contest to name America’s favorite park. Last year, Lily fans wanted to show support for the area where the radio-collared bears live. You did heroic voting to boost tiny Bear Head Lake State Park into first place over Yellowstone and Great Smoky Mountain National Parks. Unbelievable.
This year, another nearby state park is being used by 4 radio-collared bears. Soudan Underground Mine State Park is partly the home of Jo and cub, Juliet, and Juliet’s radio-collared yearlings Sharon and Shirley. It was in this state park that Jo squeezed in and out of a rock den last fall and scraped some fur off her back! The image of the park above shows both Juliet (red) and Jo (yellow) within the park boundaries this year. Soudan is the town just south of the park and Tower is in the lower left of the picture.
The Soudan Underground Mine is known as Minnesota's oldest, deepest, and richest iron mine. It has been designated a National Historic Landmark and is a popular local attraction. Some Lily fans who attended last year’s Lilypad Picnic toured the mine.
On March 17, a fire broke out in the mine shaft. No one was hurt but the mine shaft is now in need of repairs before the underground tours can resume. They probably could use our support as the state park most used by research bears this year. Right now, undiscovered by Lily fans, Soudan Underground Mine State Park is languishing far down the list with 151 votes. It would take a Lily fan miracle to catapult that park to number one by the time the contest ends in September, but such miracles have happened before. Lily fans never cease to amaze us! To vote go to http://www.livepositively.com/#/americasparks/vote .
Thank you for all the orders that are coming in to the web store for “The Bear Family and Me” 3-DVD set at http://www.bear.org/website/gift-shop.html?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage_images.tpl&product_id=841&category_id=8 .
Thank you for all you do!
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center