Sue’s intuition was right! When we saw online that Jewel was out of her den, we seized the opportunity to visit her while she was active to check the condition of her vulva. She was back in the den when we arrived, and we later reviewed the archives to watch her reaction to our approach. We saw how she held very still and seemed to be listening intently as we approached. Our “It’s me bear” could be heard when we were about 30 feet from the den.
shredded log used for bedding - Jan 10, 2012Dirty tracks on top of the snow showed where Jewel had been out recently. We were surprised to see how much of the rotted log near her den has disappeared. She has shredded more and more of it and raked it in for bedding.
With a bit of encouragement, Jewel came out of her den. We found her vulva every bit as swollen as Lily’s was in the couple weeks before she gave birth in 2010 and 2011. A positive sign!
Jewel's swollen vulva - Jan 10, 2012While reviewing the archived den cam footage of Jewel crawling into the den, we noticed her swollen vulva could be seen. We have included a still here with it visible as the lighter area in the middle of the left side of the picture, but you can see it in action if you review the archived footage for today (timecode12:09:50) available online.
We wish we’d known that clue 12 years ago when we were in suspense about whether Whiteheart would give birth during our very first Den Cam. She rearranged bedding, scratched her belly near her vulva, and got our hopes up. Now we realize Whiteheart’s vulva wasn’t swollen and that there was no way she was going to give birth. We also now realize she didn’t go out of her den, but we’re not yet sure if that means anything as a predictor.
Jewel - Jan 10, 2012
When January passed without any cubs, we wondered if Whiteheart gave birth to stillborn cubs. In those days most people did not have a fast Internet connection. So, instead of video, the Den Cam gave a new picture every 30 seconds. We hadn’t seen labor and delivery before and we didn’t know if Whiteheart could have ‘popped out’ a little cub unseen between pictures. In spring we went through her bedding and droppings looking for any evidence of cubs. There was none, of course. And now, seeing a second bear with a greatly swollen vulva before birth, the fact that Whiteheart did not give birth is doubly confirmed.
Advances in technology, coupled with the trust of these bears, has allowed all of us to learn more about black bear labor, delivery, care of cubs, and ‘life in the den.’
While at Jewel’s den we also repositioned the camera tube for a better view into the den, but she managed to push it back to its original position as she squeezed into the den. Our options for securing the camera tube are limited. The ground is frozen solid and there are no trees of any size to anchor it too. Another challenge for us to work on.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center