Faith continues to make more sounds than we expected. This is the first time we’ve observed a non-pregnant mother with a cub Faith’s age, and we had not heard these vocalizations in the hundreds of dens we visited over the decades. Probably the bears went silent as we crunched up to their dens to tranquilize them, weigh them, take blood samples, etc. Now we’re learning undisturbed behavior, and we’re glad den-watchers are stepping up to record the behavior for the record.
There is much to document about the six months that has had so little study. We will absolutely get another Den Cam going in the wild but are still waiting and hoping that Juliet will be the bear. She is the only reasonable choice for a bear that is almost certainly going to give birth, considering accessibility, cell phone signal, and solar power opportunity.
Although Honey and Lucky are in the same den, they are not snuggled together like they were 3 years ago. Their den is much bigger than any den we’ve seen in the wild.
If you’re interested in volunteering to record observations of behaviors in these dens, fill out this form http://tinyurl.com/den-watcher.
Last night we mentioned wanting to know more about diversionary feeding by First Nation People in northern Ontario. A Lily fan put us on track. We talked with Deputy Chief Gerald Mattinas of Attawapiskat, Ontario. His village is beside the Attawapiskat River 8 miles from James Bay. When natural food is scarce, black bears travel, and the broad river likely funnels them to the village. These are people who respect wildlife and refer to bears as brother. They have concern for bears. Deputy Chief Mattinas said they draw bears away from the village by putting their garbage in an unfenced dump a mile out of town. In years when natural food is scarce, they put seal carcasses 4 miles from town. He said they’ve been doing it for many years and they seldom have bears in the village.
Some Native People on the shore of the Arctic Ocean do the same for polar bears. It’s a matter of having respect, understanding, and a desire to coexist.
We’re always interested in results of diversionary feeding.
The Bear Center staff said they are all caught up on orders. Some orders had been waiting for ornaments to come in to complete them. Those were rushed out yesterday even though the ornaments hadn’t arrived. Yesterday was the post office deadline to mail things in time for Christmas with fast shipping. So everything they mailed out yesterday went Priority in the 5-state area or Express in the rest of the USA. The ornaments finally came in today and were sent out separately. There is no hope for those to arrive by Christmas, so they went out normal delivery to arrive next week.
In this season of family and friends, we’re thankful for all our Lily fan friends out there. There won’t be an update on Christmas Eve when some of are getting together for a church service, dinner, and then placing candles in the snow and on trees to see the magic of lights dancing in the darkness, brightening one of the longest nights of the year. It’s an old tradition for Sue. She has over 140 candles to put out this year, so it might actually be work.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center