We collared Hope. Really we did. Honest. We’ve got pictures to prove it. But, as we write this update, her radio-collar sits next to the computer. Hope wore the collar for over 3 hours. But she gave us the slip again. Darn. Double darn!
How did we do it?
First, we realized the old attachment method took too long for “The Untouchable One.” Sue came up with a new Zip-Tie attachment.
Next, we realized we needed someone brave. We thought of Jim Stroner. His specialty is grabbing a pinch of hair from unsuspecting bears for DNA samples. Maybe he would do it.
Third, we needed to catch Hope so hungry she would let her guard down for a moment.
Today, it all came together. Hungry Hope let her guard down long enough for Jim to get the collar connected using the Zip-Tie. It looked loose. Jason (who came back to help for the weekend) gave the Zip-Tie a tug. Hope went ballistic and struggled to get it off. She pawed at it and rubbed it on trees to dislodge it. The collar didn’t budge. It survived Hope’s onslaught and later some raucous play with Faith and Lily. But eventually she moved on and the collar was left behind.
Volunteers with full stomachs, thanks to you, headed out to home in on the collar’s signal, retrieve the collar, and see what happened. All the bragging above about how we did it was for naught. The design worked but the Zip-Tie failed. We’re looking for extra-heavy duty ones and will try again as Hope grows ever wiser to our ways.
Our day began with excitement of a different kind. June, the radio-collared bear the DNR termed “aggressive,” needed a hand today, and Eagles Nest Community residents responded.
Jason had gone out to change June’s GPS batteries and heard her cubs bawling and bawling. He found them trapped in an 8-foot deep cement block structure in an abandoned construction project back in the woods. Their cries echoed across the lake.
The head of the Eagles Nest Community Bear Response Team and we brought a wooden ladder. June was obviously distraught, grunting her concern in response to the frightened cubs’ cries for help. As we worked, June walked among us looking for ways to help the cubs. We lowered the ladder. The female cub climbed up, followed by the more timid male. June quickly led them off into the woods, presumably to nurse after the separation. The last we saw, her GPS locations showed her moving over a mile away. June was anything but aggressive.
We looked closer at the cement structure the cubs had been trapped in. We noticed the saplings growing in it were shredded and the vegetation trampled. How did the cubs ever end up trapped? Then we found the answer. On the bottom of the pit were trampled remains of a hornet nest. Hornet brood is a favorite food for bears at this time of year. The nest likely hung in one of the saplings growing up from the bottom of the pit and the cubs fell in as they reached for the delicacy. That also explained the hornets buzzing around us as we worked!
Videos of Hope wearing her radio-collar (however briefly…) and June’s cubs being rescued are being readied. Please check for them tonight or tomorrow on http://www.youtube.com/user/
Meanwhile, few hunters are in the area, and all the radio-collared bears are safe. The team radio-located Cookie again today, and she is moving away from the area where she denned last year, so she probably is not ready yet.
Thank you for the sandwiches and all you sent for this busy time. Much appreciated!
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center