Jo dropped her collar 6 weeks ago. We put the word out for folks to be on the lookout for a mother with a single cub. Today the call came. There she was. With little resistance, Jo accepted her old collar back. We had nearly given up hope.
Ursula’s radio signal showed she was in the area and needed her GPS batteries changed. She is a sweetheart and let us do it close to dark. We added ribbons and snapped her picture. We think Ursula is beautiful with her rich golden muzzle and eyebrow patches and sleek black fur.
Lily et al., June, and all the GPSed bears are safe.
Wow! Thank you for your support through the Admin Fundraiser. We see the debt sitting at $31,330 and shrinking. Encouraging! Thank you. We hear from many of you that you hope to erase that debt by the end of the year, and it is happening.
Today was the highest total votes we’ve seen—70,037 to bring us 5,532 votes closer to first place and 35,816 votes farther ahead of 3rd place. Every day, Lily fans register the highest votes in the contest, edging Soudan Underground Mine State Park ever closer to first place at http://m.livepositively.com/park_details.jsp?parkId=556 . 16 days to go.
Thank you for more orders today for the 3-DVD collector’s set ($24.95) “Lily and Hope: Memories of 2010” at http://www.bear.org/website/gift-shop.html?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage_images.tpl&product_id=855. Another use of the DVD set is as a gift for any teacher you might want to introduce to the Lily saga.
We plan to put a Den Cam in Lily’s den again this winter to compare family behaviour this winter with the previous winters when Lily was raising newborn cubs and producing milk. We suspect things will be a lot quieter in the den this winter. We also hope to put a Den Cam in the den of another bear who should give birth and raises cubs for comparison. We’re hoping the experienced team of Den Watchers will marshal their skills again to add to the pile of data we are writing up from the first two winters. The winter of 2010 was a magical time when everything was new and there was excitement beyond belief. Friendships formed. Lily’s army grew, and education began.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center