Faith grooming - Sept 30, 2011Lily led us to what appeared to be a den today, but it was wet. Both Faith and Lily leaned in and drank from it. We suspect they may have started the den before the recent rains. Lily seemed to be making an effort to connect with Faith. She initiated mutual tongue-licking which seems to be a bonding activity. Lily also groomed Faith and allowed her to suckle, but there was little if any milk to be had. This may mean Lily will be denning soon. It’s normal for mothers to wean their cubs before denning in the fall. By the end of today, they struck out for new digs, eating bedstraw and coltsfoot leaves along the way.
Cub in crab-apple treeWe worried about Jo and her cub today but then were relieved. We got a call about a cub that has been up a tree in Soudan for 3 days with no mother. Actually, we get these calls every hunting season when cubs are orphaned. We were relieved to see it was not Jo’s cub. The tree was a crabapple with the biggest crabapples we have ever seen. The hungry cub made a good choice. The big question as whether the cub could make it through the winter on its own. Cubs know how to make dens, and they seldom die in the dens. They either die before or after denning if they are going to die. From its size, maybe 50 pounds, this cub appeared to have a good chance and would probably fare best if left in the wild.
CrabapplesMeanwhile, Jo’s GPS locations showed her to be foraging along the edge of a swamp in habitat typical of winterberry, which has a good crop of berries this fall despite the drought. Those berries may have fared better than the upland berries because they grow in damp lowland habitat. Winterberry is not common but has a good crop where we do see it.
Video of Jo and her cub Victoria will be posted later tonight on http://www.youtube.com/user/bearstudy#g/u.
WinterberriesThe bears that should have cubs this winter are Juliet (who will be 9), Dot (who will be 12), Cookie (who will be 7), and maybe Jewel (who will be 3). The first two of these are in dens already. We’re waiting to see where these bears and Lily den and what the possibilities are for den cams.
We heard more good ideas for a permanent memorial for celebrating Hope’s life. Lily fans are thoughtful and resourceful, and when they get behind something, they can be a force to reckon with. We’re waiting for more information, but a movement is starting. Beyond that, Lily fans are also coming out in favor of a Hope Foundation. Donations would be used for scholarships or more broadly for helping classes learn about bears or helping bears around the world. The idea of naming the waterfalls the Hope Memorial Waterfalls didn’t fly, as it turns out. You keep coming up with better ideas.
In this time of emotion on the various Facebook pages, it is good to see the lively exchanges of thoughts. Through it all, we doubly appreciate seeing Lily fans who are obviously in it for the bears.
Many good things are happening behind the scenes. We’re excited about the future.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center