We worried when we heard a shot today in the direction of Braveheart’s territory, so we were relieved to see her tonight and get her collar back on. It was too dark for a picture. Knowing that un-collared Donna is still roaming with her cubs makes us nervous. We hope hunters will spare mothers with cubs even if the mothers don’t have collars.
June is very near a rock den that she tried and didn’t use last fall. If we hear a faint signal from that direction, it will likely mean she is deep in the den checking it out. Last time she was in that den for a few hours, we wondered where she went.
A new wrinkle in the story of Lily (above), Hope, and Faith. While Lily sat sluggishly nearby, Hope worked hard digging a den (right) only a half mile from the rock den June might be checking out. Faith climbed in the shallow den to check it out as Hope continued digging. Who would have guessed? The incipient den was under a fallen tree by the root mass, a typical den situation. If trees have fallen flat, bears den under the trunk. If the tree is leaning 45 degrees, they den under the upturned roots. Hope eventually gave up. She likely ran into a boulder like Lily did in fall 2009 when she attempted to dig three dens before settling for the den previously used by another bear that became the familiar den of 2010. As of today both Faith and Hope are still nursing. A video taken of Lily’s family on Sept 8 is posted at http://www.youtube.com/user/bearstudy#p/u/0/qk3SrJFxPJ8.
Pregnant Juliet spent last night and today bedded in one spot. She is still in the vicinity. When we visited her to replace her GPS batteries this morning, she was like a zombie at times—a sign of slowing down. The person who changed her batteries didn’t think to take a picture or take her heart rate.
Colleen’s GPS batteries expired and she was too far from anywhere for anyone to catch up to her and give her new batteries, so we’re not getting GPS signals from Colleen and her cubs at this point.
Ursula is resting a lot even though she has cubs and isn’t likely to den for a month yet. The same for Jo.
Pregnant Dot is near a den where she produced her litter of 2009, but, unlike Juliet, she is still moving around a lot in that area. Each bear is programmed differently.
Yearlings Sharon and Shirley are safe, as is 2-year-old Star (Shannon’s daughter).
Pregnant Cookie is still moving about, mainly in safe areas. She could settle down at any time. The area she visited today is a place she denned in a nice rock den a few years ago. We hope she dens there again.
A moment of excitement today was when a pair of rare trumpeter swans landed in our bay and were added to the list of birds seen on the property (133 species).
Again, all of us are eating to our hearts’ content thanks to you. Today, people drove home-cooked meals up from Duluth in coolers to make sure everything was perfect. Thank you so much!
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center