Can you see the cub dangling? - Jan 23, 2012At about 1:01 PM, one of Jewel’s cubs became pinned beneath her and cried in distress. The strong cries showed the cub could still breathe. Jewel responded with a flurry of intense grunts of motherly concern and reached to retrieve the cub. The cub with its ‘Velcro’ claws latched onto Jewel’s foreleg and clung to it swinging wildly as Jewel raised her foreleg to retrieve the cub. She finally managed to tuck it underneath her and we shortly heard a contented nursing hum, although we don’t know which cub was doing the humming. At this moment (7:13 PM) all is calm.
Jewel nuzzles a cub - Jan 23, 2012The Den-Watchers are recording breathing rates, so they will have the full story, but we haven’t seen Jewel doing the long slow breathing only 2-4 per minute that we have seen some bears do in dens. We suspect the reason is that Jewel has to maintain a higher metabolism, a higher oxygen demand, to make milk. We’re not sure how much she really sleeps, considering how responsive she is to the cubs’ cries.
Last year we observed a mixed-age litter in the den. This year we can watch a ‘typical’ bear family interact. We will see personalities emerge and see the relationships that develop between the two cubs and with Jewel. Jewel may have a favorite cub that will get much of her play and grooming efforts. One may stick more tightly with Jewel while the other is more independent and prone to exploration.
Jewel licks to clean up - Jan 23, 2012
With luck, we will watch these cubs in 2013 to see if one leaves the area and one remains ‘home’ a year or two longer. We can see if post-dispersal behavior follows the lines we’ve seen in other families with cubs of differing personalities. One example is June’s first litter of Pete and George. Pete was the mama’s boy, always sticking near June and spending a lot of time playing with her. George was more independent, striking out on his own to explore and playing much less, although one of the best play videos we captured was of Pete and George playing together (http://tinyurl.com/CubPlay). Family breakup at nearly 1 ½ years of age seemed easy for George. He disappeared for couple days on his own before June let them know it was time for both yearlings to be on their own. George (radio-collared) promptly left the area and settled 13 miles away. Pete stayed around for another year and still returns for a few weeks each year. He has never worn a radio-collar. He didn’t want one, and he let us know it. He has the untouchable trait, although he has mellowed a bit with age (7).
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center