Lily - April 4, 2012As promised, Sue checked on Lily and Faith to see what was holding them in the clover patch—clover. Little sprouts about an inch tall—the first broad-leaved greens we’ve seen sprouting from the forest floor. The clover is not native here and may not be representative of local phenology.
Clover beginning to grow - April 4, 2012Catching up to Lily and Faith was not easy. They saw Sue a hundred yards away on a logging road and spooked big time. They bolted into the forest even though Sue was saying the usual words and had the telemetry receiver beeping. They must not have heard her voice as they foraged on clover. When she got to where they ran into the forest and called and called, they wouldn’t come. She eventually tracked them down by telemetry. With Sue calling and approaching in the usual way, Lily held. She was 30 feet away watching Sue approach. Before coming, Lily lunged and blew, then calmly came to Sue and let her change the batteries in the GPS unit on Lily’s collar. It was interesting to see Lily and Faith’s responses to a human situation the bears didn’t at first recognize. Lily’s brother Cal reacted the same way in a similar situation in the fall of 2010.
Lily blows and swats - April 4, 2012Later, Sue snapped a picture of Lily looking calm. When she tried for another, Lily suddenly showed a long narrow muzzle and then slapped a log with both paws, making the sawdust fly just as the picture was snapped. Perhaps Lily felt some residual nervousness from the earlier fright of unexpectedly seeing a person.
Lily sleeps in hibernating position - April 4, 2012Lily and Faith then played, nursed, and fell asleep. Most interesting is that when Lily fell asleep, she did so in the hibernating position, lying on her abdomen, tucking her head under her chest, and folding her arms in front of her head. That’s something we haven’t seen outside the den, but this is a strange year when most bears would normally still be in dens. Faith slept in the normal summer posture.
Lily and Faith rest - April 4, 2012Faith nursed on the same nipple she used as a cub, using only the anterior nipple on the left side of Lily’s chest. That nipple is enlarged. The other 5 nipples appear to be unused. Sue watched closely and saw no sign of milk as Faith nursed. On March 18, Lynn couldn’t express any milk from that nipple. Sue was watching for milk because June did produce milk starting a week or 10 days after she left her den with yearlings (Lily, Cal, and Bud) in 2008, but that was later in April.
Herbie and Fern - April 4, 2012At Jewel’s den, the cubs are playing with wild abandon, jumping on each other and even running, yet they are remaining at the den and Jewel continues to bring in more bedding as if she intends to stay awhile. We’re all learning together.
Two videos featuring highlights at Jewel’s den on April 2 were posted last night after the update:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk2bQP7VReo
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29667fsWsAI
We thank a small group of volunteers who took on the task of turning Lynn’s handwritten 1989 diary into text that can be word-searched on the computer like his more recent diaries are. The group was meticulous—a great and useful job that will help us locate bear observations needed for publications.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center