Jewel in her den - March 18, 2012Another day of field work—and we had our work cut out for us. Both Den Cams needed attention. Bears can be rough on the equipment! Ted came along to help with the major repairs.
First stop was Jewel’s den to realign her Den Cam. But first order of business was to get a radio-collar back on her before she leaves the den. The cubs were nursing when we arrived. When they finished, Jewel came out and participated in the collaring routine like a champion. Success!
Jewel at her den - March 18, 2012Inside the den, the cubs played and eventually rested, giving us a chance to film them to determine the stage of eye opening at 56 days of age. With no problems to attend to in the den, Jewel checked out the surroundings and spent a lot of time with her nose in the air, biting the air, testing the breezes on this warm, windy day as she looked in all directions.
Jewel's fecal plug - March 18, 2012
Meanwhile, we repositioned the Den Cam to give Jewel plenty of room to come and go without disrupting it. Ted adjusted a trail cam and left. Jewel watched him disappear into the trees. She returned to the den and we began filming her with the cubs.
Jewel near her den - March 18, 2012
Shortly, she acted like she wanted to come out again. We wondered why as we moved the video camera to give her room. We didn’t wait long for an answer. She needed to defecate. She strained for several minutes and finally passed her big hard fecal plug (photo) as we watched. Fecal plugs build up through the winter as cells die and slough off the inside of the digestive tract and accumulate in the bowels. In addition, her plug likely contains hair from her grooming and bits of her foot pads that we watched her chew these past months. We felt lucky to know the date and be able to analyze the result of this annual event.
After she checked on the cubs again, she came out and looked like she wanted something. We knew she had often come out to eat snow, but no snow was in sight. We offered her water we had brought for ourselves. It hit the spot. She was very thirsty. We said goodbye and headed to Lily and Faith’s den.
Lily emerging from her den - March 18, 2012Approaching Lily’s den, we saw the logs she had been tearing apart for grubs in the vicinity. Two minutes after arriving and saying, “It’s me, bear” Lily calmly came out to meet us. We felt honored because it was a hot day in the 70’s and it looked cool in her den where ice and frost still cling to rocks that have been cooled for months. We lowered a thermometer 7 feet to the bottom of the den—44F.
Lily at grub log - March 18, 2012We meant to get Lily’s heart rate but forgot in our effort to splice the broken sound cable and put a new end on the Den Cam cable that Lily had pulled entirely out of the camera and chewed. With everything working okay again, we wondered if Lily was producing much milk, considering how often Faith nurses. We couldn’t express a drop from Faith’s favorite nipple. Lily was a complete sweetheart the whole time.
Faith in den - March 18, 2012We had brought a radio-collar for Faith, but she was content to stay in the cool den. She and Lily had entered it as we approached. Shortly after we left, though, Faith joined Lily outside. We put their Den Cam in a different hole for a different view—and to get it away from where they were going in and out. We’ll see if they go back in for the night. Mothers with yearlings can begin roaming early—and, this year, we could see the earliest den exits in the history of this study.
This record duration of record breaking temperatures is creating conditions similar to what they would find over a month from now. There soon will be food in addition to hard-to-get grubs and snow fleas. In addition to the willow and aspen catkins that continue to enlarge, red maple flowers will be opening and succulent plants will likely be emerging soon. Mothers with cubs will be thirsty and anxious to drink as soon as the cubs can follow. We’ll all be tracking their progress to see when they get strong enough and coordinated enough to follow and climb trees.
This record year is an excellent chance to document phenology to learn more about what governs the timing of bear behavior—an internal genetically-based time clock, day length, temperature, lack of snow that hinders travel, and/or the presence of the usual spring foods, albeit very early.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center