When Honey came out for a walk, we said how warm it is today, as if that was an explanation. The temperature at this moment is still 39F, which is 60-70F warmer than we often see on this date (-32 in 2005, -23 in 2009, -25 in 2010, and -9 in 2011). Honey walked down to her den from last year and then came back, walking in the same footsteps, and put Lucky on edge with the tension of her bluster as she was about to enter the den with mixed emotions. Donna Andrews posted a video of Honey’s walk today at http://youtu.be/qkAVBgYCqQ0.
But if warm weather was an explanation, why were Lily and Faith snuggled so quietly all day?
The main thing we know is that whatever they are doing, it is not because of us. We haven’t visited Lily and Faith’s den since we installed the Den Cam on December 18, and no one has gone near Lucky and Honey’s den since Donna Andrews noticed Honey was a hundred yards away from the den on December 26 and was looking good (no injuries from the argument 2 days earlier). Donna took that opportunity to check on Lucky who was out in front of the den and also without injuries. It was good to know that the very loud exchange was without harm. None of the bears are getting any food.
A part needed for the Den Cam in Jewel’s den won’t come in until Monday, so we are waiting to see what the team decides to do.
Something we wish we knew more about is bears and the early settlers—like those at Jamestown. They arrived at Jamestown during a multi-year drought that led to many of them starving. A multi-year drought is also devastating to bears, and the Jamestown settlers had brought their farming culture with them, which would put them at odds with the bears in years of scarce wild berries, etc. They also brought their European attitudes toward bears (extirpated from England by 900) and wolves (on the brink of extirpation by the early 1600’s). We wonder if Lily fans know of writings about relations between early settlers and bears. Native Americans of that area had long been hunter-gatherers which put them less at odds with bears than if they had crops for bears to plunder in bad food years. Many Native Americans viewed bears with respect, many were proud to be members of a bear clan, and many referred to bears as brother, grandmother, or other terms of kinship. Native Americans in eastern North America were in the early stages of farming in the early 1600’s. We’re interested in checking the accuracy of these “facts” and learning more about the bear-human relations of those days.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center