Juliet and one of her female cubs in their bed of grass in their thicket - April 2, 2012Today was the start of spreading the word—in this case, the word as taught by Juliet and cubs. It was the first day of BBC filming. We were impressed with the crew. All are fun professionals who were sensitive to the bears. The focus of this series is the world as seen by cubs. It will also showcase the beauty of northeastern Minnesota. Each hour will have a segment on the bears and segments from about 15 other research projects around the world. We’ll know more when the BBC begins spreading the word about the series.
This sapling about 18 inches tall had its branches repeatedly nibbled by snowshoe hares. Juliet uses it as a scratching post which might explain the tufts of underfur that protrude from her otherwise smooth coat - April 2, 2012Juliet didn’t bother to get up from her bed with the cubs as we joined her saying the usual words. The cubs spent most of the time nursing and resting and a little time exploring around Juliet. The female cubs can now walk as well as the male did when we visited them a couple weeks ago—meaning they are still unsteady on their feet. Then, we were surprised to see one climb 4-5 feet up a tamarack tree, showing that she could climb better than she could walk. After awhile, all fell asleep, and we said “Thank you, bears.”
Juliet and cubs sleeping - April 2, 2012Lily showed us how little we know about bears. We had said we didn’t think she and Faith would return to their den. About 12:40 PM, they started that way, arrived by 1:20 PM, and stayed until 4:30 PM. We don’t know if they actually entered it or not. Then, they headed down to the clearcut where they and June ate so much clover last year. Their roaming covered more than a mile and counting. We’ll see if roaming continues. We usually don’t see a lot of that for another 3-4 weeks until green-up, which will come early this year.
Jewel and cubs outside their den - April 2, 2012Jewel’s cubs followed her out of the den twice today. They wandered around the den entrance and climbed on top of the den mound. Their den days are numbered.
It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed being with the BBC crew. Meanwhile, we are hearing that Lily Fans are filling out Volunteer Application Forms.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center