Lily in den - October 20, 2011Sometime after 9:34 AM today, Lily and Faith moved nearly 2 miles from their ‘safe haven’ in the balsam thicket back to the same rock den they were in on Oct 3. They had also visited this den briefly on Oct 15 and 16 just before heading for their ‘safe haven.’
Lily & Faith in rock den - October 20, 2011A slight northward movement in Lily’s GPS readings caught my attention this morning. There was one more reading from the same area—then nothing. I waited 3 hours before heading out to see if her collar was spun around. I checked for her radio signal at 12:54 PM and found Lily had left the area. Her signal was to the southeast and she was still moving. I drove various logging roads to monitor her progress remotely. Still no GPS readings, but I suspected she was heading for the rock den.
At 3:06 PM I found Lily and Faith in the rock den. Lily’s collar was spun around which explained the lack of GPS readings. She had gone into ‘stealth mode’ before heading for the den. Both Lily and Faith seemed relaxed and tired so I snapped a few pics of them in the den and left. This could be it. No bedding yet, but one bear we monitored rested in her den for a week before coming out to rake in bedding. Hopefully she will spin her collar back around so we will know if/when she comes out to rake.
MEA Conference volunteers - Oct 20, 2011The word we hear is that there was standing room only for this morning’s “Let’s Talk Scat” presentation by Lynn Rogers and Dana Coleman at the MEA conference—and a line out the door! Interest was high among teachers looking to incorporate black bears studies into their classroom curriculum. Special thanks to the many Lily fans who volunteered to help man the busy NABC/WRI booth throughout the day!
golden tamarack - Oct 20, 2011On the way to work this morning I saw the first flock of snow buntings moving south from their summer breeding grounds in the high arctic. The deciduous trees are nearly bare now, but the tamaracks—deciduous conifers—are at their peak. It’s time to get those fall chores done.
Another video from yesterday has been posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ho0gnmDuOc. It shows how intently Lily was sniffing her surroundings. It also shows her suddenly bolting a couple of times. This is not unusual behavior for bears at this time of year—0 to 60 with no warning. Go figure.
Thank you for all you do.
—Sue Mansfield, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center