Braveheart and her mate - May 21, 2012Today we set out to replace 2-year-old Sharon’s small ‘cub collar’ with an adult collar equipped with GPS. This will allow us to collect more complete data on her. She was seen with a large male the evening of May 21 and again the next morning at 9:10 AM. By 7 PM on Thursday, May 24 she was alone. If she’s big enough to be attracting mates, she’s big enough for an adult collar!
Braveheart follows - May 21, 2012
We searched high and low in the Tower/Soudan area but could not find Sharon’s signal. Could she be traveling far outside the study area like Lily did yesterday (she’s back home now) and like other estrus bears have done? We hoped to fly to locate her, but the airplane was booked. We will fly tomorrow afternoon, weather permitting. Hopefully we will solve the mystery of Sharon’s disappearance from the study area. We’ll keep you posted!
Faith is fine. She was seen last night and is doing well.
Wood bear image - May 26, 2012
The DNR released Jo’s body to us Thursday. Thank you Sharon Herrell and new intern Daniel Simpson for making the 440-mile round trip to retrieve it on short notice. That evening, Jo’s younger brother Bill approached her body, sniffed it, and erupted in a flurry of friendly vocalizations like captive Ted makes toward people before he licks their faces. Bill tried to lift her head. He sniffed her all over, making the friendly, high-pitched sound. He tried to drag her, all the while making the friendly sound. Finally, he left her and walked away, looking back at her repeatedly before he disappeared. Two other males saw her but paid no attention. We wonder what Bill was thinking.
Recent events highlight the continuing need for education about bears. We haven’t wavered in our commitment to education, which is why we’re working to build the Education Building at the North American Bear Center. It’s also why we ask interested Lily Fans to fill out Volunteer Applications at http://www.bear.org/website/volunteer.html and why we are working to establish a nationwide Speaker’s Bureau.
We put together a video of Braveheart’s May 21 mating activities and posted it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8rXNynPPco.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center