Hope meant so much to us on so many levels that it’s hard to get past her death. We know some will disagree, but she was not just another bear to be killed. She held deep heartfelt value to thousands of people. Few people have a following close to the following Hope had—or has. For many, she still lives on in our hearts. She touched people deeply with her struggles to survive with thousands cheering her on. Her family had some hurdles along the way but developed a long-lasting family relationship. We believe Lily’s actions yesterday were a testament to their closeness. Lily wasn’t ready to let go. It wasn’t time for family breakup. Losing Hope was not in the natural order of things. Lily’s maternal instincts are still running deep. Hope was playful. We can only imagine how much Lily and Faith miss the interactions that were part of each day. Love is such a basic emotion that we believe it is not a stretch to say these family members loved each other and now deeply miss Hope.
We wonder if any bear will ever again grip people like Hope did. Beyond all of our feelings for her, Hope stood for education. That’s one reason we thought of the Hope Scholarship Fund to honor her memory. That idea got mixed reactions and may not be the way to go. We’re considering other options.
We are torn between all your requests for Hope memorabilia and not feeling right about making money from Hope’s memory, although all would be used to further the educational mission of the Bear Center.
A Lily fan who watches the Pond Cam made a suggestion for the waterfalls being built—to name them the Hope Memorial Waterfalls. The waterfalls are being repaired and rebuilt with money from your purchases. Lily fans and two anonymous donors have made great strides in paying off the debt—lowering it from $1,145,000 in October 2008 to $22,000 today. We are looking for a way to recognize your much needed help and the help from the donors.
Someone will find better words eventually, but an early stab at a memorial plague might be something like:
“The Hope Memorial Waterfalls were made possible by _____ and _____ and the thousands of Lily fans who love Lily and her family—including her firstborn Hope. Hope struggled against terrible odds to survive. In the process, she taught more people about black bears than any bear in the world. She brought thousands together and ultimately reached millions through the internet and three TV documentaries.
Her name signifies the goals of the North American Bear Center:
Hope for bear populations everywhere, including endangered species around the world
Opportunity to learn what bears are really like
Progress toward correcting misconceptions and changing attitudes
Education about bear life”
That’s the idea of the moment. Lily fans are a great source of ideas and are making their mark on the Bear Center.
Lily remained bedded all last night and all day today. She began moving this evening then stopped sending GPS reading. She likely rubbed a tree to mark it and spun her collar around. We may need to pay her a visit tomorrow to ‘straighten her out.’ Another video of Lily and Faith from Sept 25th will be posted later tonight at http://www.youtube.com/user/bearstudy#g/u.
Jo spent the day working the edge of a wetland area. From the distribution of her GPS readings it appears she was foraging on something. We suspect it was winterberry but won’t know for sure unless we can get out there soon to check for feeding sign.
Here’s hoping for another day of field work!
Thank you for all you do
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center