Silly Jewel - Jan 13, 2012The replacement component for the Lily-Faith Den Cam arrived so we got it back online today. As the den cam came up, we found Lily and Faith nearly in nearly the same position as when we last saw them on Sunday. They hadn’t a clue we were gone and haven’t a clue we’re back! We’re interested to see if Faith has fallen into a deeper sleep during this cold weather or if she will still beg to suckle. Tomorrow may tell.
Jewel - Jan 13, 2012The restless activity of Jewel on this cold (near 0F) day gave us a sense of urgency about aligning her camera. But, urgent or not we didn’t make it out today due to other equally urgent matters. Tomorrow for sure! We’re getting closer to the birthing time and we want the camera set for optimal viewing and data recording. The technology team is doing all they can to make sure we have as strong a cell phone signal as possible. The adapter for the antenna arrived so the Yagi antenna is now connected.
Jewel licking - Jan 13, 2012What signs of labor should we be looking for? Judging from what Lily showed us, we should watch for restlessness, licking genitals, increased respiration, laying stretched out, tensing of muscles (particularly those on the top of the head where the jaw muscles attach), slamming the body against the walls of the den, straining, squatting, grunting, and of course the cub cries when the birth actually takes place. Lily labored over 20 hours both times, so it wasn’t a quick process. We are anxious to follow Jewel’s progress.
We feel honored that ‘A Prairie Home Companion’ is going to talk about Jewel tomorrow night. We heard that they only patch in a person by phone about once a year. Garrison Keillor called tonight for a pre-interview chat with Lynn. A list of stations that will be broadcasting Saturday’s show can be found at http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/stations/list.php.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center