Jewel and cubs - March 12, 2012Following testimony from two Andover Elementary School students, the bill (Senate File 1905) to make the black bear the Minnesota state mammal passed the Senate committee by unanimous vote and is headed for the Senate floor. Thanks to Senator Michelle Benson for getting this going after the idea was born in Dana Coleman’s first grade class. The House version of the bill (House File 2144), authored by Representative Peggy Scott, will be heard in the House committee in a few days. We’re still crossing our fingers. What a wonderful experience this is for the students!
Photo right: Davis Gohman, 8, held his stuffed black bear "Blackie" He came to the Capitol with his mom Jennifer, left, to support a bill to make the black bear Minnesota's state mammal. Photo: Glen Stubbe (http://www.startribune.com/galleries/142375315.html)
Soundwave of Victoria's nursing!Watching Lily and Faith nursing so much, we wondered if other mothers with yearlings do too. Of course, we saw Lily and Hope doing it, but that was Lily again. Inquiring minds wanted to know. We splurged. We bought a sound recorder and 50 yards of cable and put a microphone in the den of 4-year-old Jo and her yearling Victoria. We ran the first 24 hours of data through a computer program that helps identify sound patterns so a person can go right to that part of the file and listen to verify the sound pattern was indeed the familiar sound of nursing. Jo and Victoria sound like Lily and Faith—Victoria is bawling to nurse and nursing! In addition to frequent nursing, we believe we heard the familiar crunching sound of eating snow. Now, we want to buy another sound recorder and monitor Braveheart and her 3 yearlings.
Jewel's cub yawning - March 12, 2012With the record warm weather forecast for this week in March, we also want to put trail cams outside dens to see if any bears come out. So far, Lily and Jewel haven’t.
Do Lily and Jewel make us better people? A Lily Fan said watching them made her a better person. As she realized that black bears are not the evil beasts one might think based on rumors and appearance, she began judging people more fairly.
Jewel and cub - March 12, 2012Can Lily and Jewel teach us about love? Following up on the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s online discussion about love a month ago (http://tinyurl.com/Update-Feb9), we saw a book written by 3 psychiatrists on the subject entitled A General Theory of Love by Drs. Lewis, Amini, and Lannon (2000). Drawing on new scientific discoveries, they wrote that “a primordial area of the brain, far older than reason or thinking, creates both the capacity and the need for emotional intimacy that all humans share.” We wondered if those feelings come from a primordial area of the brain, isn’t it likely that other mammals share it and might it be proper to say that Lily and Jewel show love for their family members? The book backed up the statements made by Drs. Bekoff and Witt in the AAAS discussion. When we see the gentleness, concern, and care demonstrated by Lily and Jewel, we echo what many Lily Fans have said, that, “Humans could take a lesson from these bears.”
Jewel watches as cub stands - March 12, 2012So many Lily Fans are doing so much to share what they have learned from these bears. The hundreds of classrooms that follow the Den Cams and research updates are part of this. The Education Outreach Team is part of this. The Den-Watch Team is amassing data to turn into peer-reviewed publications. And the Mods on Lily the Black Bear’s Facebook page and on the Pond Cam Chat Page are busy monitoring comments while the new “Bear Facts and Fun” group is finding fun ways to share bear facts.
A video of yesterday’s highlights in Jewel’s den is posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKMoTcLoPC4.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center