Aster, June, and Aspen feeding on aspen leaves - May 29, 2012We were glad to find June, Aster, and Aspen safe in a clear-cut far from any people. Back 8-10 years ago, June (born in 2001) was a regular visitor to the feeding stations in the community. But as she matured and her offspring vied for space in her territory, she has shifted her main territory to uninhabited forest—miles from the feeding stations. She is often within a half mile of the Bear Head Lake State Park campground but, as far as we know, has never gone into it.
June strips aspen leaves through her diastema - May 29, 2012Today, we were surprised to see her and the yearlings bending aspen saplings and eating the leaves. Few bears are doing that now with the leaves becoming mature. Does this mean she is extra hungry? Does it mean she found an extra tasty clone of aspen trees? We remember grouse biologist Gordon Gullion telling how grouse preferred the buds and catkins of certain aspen trees year after year.
Aspen bites last leaf off branch - May 29, 2012The aspen leaf feeding was over 3 miles from the nearest feeding station and only a mile from the State Park campground. Why she doesn't visit the campground is beyond us. Trying to understand bear behaviors that don’t make human sense is one of the reasons we do research. We just observe and report, and some behaviors are contrary to what many would predict. We’re just glad she does not visit the campground. As she shifts her territory farther from the feeding stations, they may have less preventive effect in keeping her from problem areas.
Aster - May 29, 2012Juliet and her 3 cubs might have experienced some forest drama today. When we reached them to change Juliet’s GPS batteries, all were high in trees—the cubs far out on a branch of a huge aspen tree and Juliet in a cedar tree nearby. That usually means a bear has passed by—typically a big male. Although cannibalism on cubs by big males is rare, mothers treat those males as if they are the biggest threat in the world. Juliet climbed down the cedar and joined the cubs in the aspen tree. The branch the cubs were on was too small to support an adult bear, so Juliet chose to rest in the rugged crotch of the main trunk.
Juliet and cubs high in aspen - May 29, 2012The family remained up the tree for over 3 hours. Juliet’s 2-year-old daughters Sharon and Shirley share her territory, and both should be attracting big males. We know Sharon is outside her territory, but non-collared Shirley could have passed through with a suitor in tow. We wish we could be everywhere at once to know the “rest of the stories.”
Video footage of Jewel and her cubs taken on May 22 is posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKBJZ-Lmexk.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center