Jewel and Herbie - June 2, 2012June is back in the study area but continues to be active. As far as we know she is still alone. Earlier today, she and Lily were in the same area. June moved on and continued her travels while Lily remained. Sharon has yo-yoed in and out of the study area since we fitted her with a collar and GPS unit last Monday but is currently well inside her mother Juliet’s territory. Once we know the extent of her territory we may need to redefine the study area.
Jewel and cubs are fine—saw them earlier today when we changed Jewel's GPS batteries. Sorry, just one lousy picture! But we’ve posted another video from May 12 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8azsnpdFAP8. The cubs were particularly energetic that day—even dragging each other down from trees!
Below is the account of my second walk with June. I considered editing out parts but then didn’t. Consider yourself forewarned. Bears don’t share human inhibitions.
Remember to check out the Volunteer webpage - www.bear.org/website/volunteer.html - for news and volunteer opportunities.
Thank you for all you do.
Sue Mansfield, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
Date: July 15, 2004
Duration: 0937 – 1741 hrs
Bear: June
Observer: S. Mansfield
June and her brother Will - July 15, 2004I started radio-tracking bears early and had already located 6 bears when I found June’s signal coming from just north of the RR grade and east of the first clear-cut. I took the opportunity to walk in to her. Soon I could see a bear cautiously moving towards me. Assuming it was June I began talking to her and stashed the antenna and receiver. Then I realized the bear had no collar. I thought, “What luck to find June so near to where she dropped her collar!” The bear stopped and laid down, draped over a log gazing off into the woods. I followed its gaze and saw a bear with a collar (9:37 AM) – June! So who was this un-collared bear? As June approached me, the other bear followed and I realized it must be her brother Will – a sleek young male with a dark face. June came for the nuts I offered and Will looked interested too, but he did not come close and I did not feed him. For the next hour the two bears lounged around – resting, grooming, and looking very much like a mated pair. Will was paying lots of attention to June, sniffing her genitals, checking the spots where she had been sitting, tongue-clicking, etc. The two moved in sync from place to place – but always very near to where we met up. Finally, at 10:36 AM, Will set off to roam and June sat for a grooming session and finally laid down to rest and slept until 12:17 PM. She then went a short ways to a mossy wetland and drank from a pool. After lounging there for a spell she headed off and found Will bedded a short ways away.
June reaches for a branch - July 15, 2004June seemed very playful and initially Will joined in the play and was batting at her. He then became quite passive and June began to groom him extensively – nuzzling and nipping his ear, neck, side, etc. Initially she was rubbing her genitals on a log while she was grooming him. At one point she held his head down with her paw as she groomed him. Will occasionally batted at June – but she was not dissuaded. This grooming session lasted for nearly half an hour. When she moved around to his backside she lay on top of his lower body and rubbed herself on him while tongue-clicking. She then lay on her back under a downed aspen near Will and began to play with it with all four feet. Both bears rested – side by side almost nose to nose for another half hour.
June pulls branch back until it breaks - July 15, 2004About 1:40 PM both bears began to roam south towards the RR grade. Initially there was a lot of contact between them – but Will did not seem comfortable with me following them. Just north of the RR grade they stopped in an area of pretty heavy bear marking sign to check out the trees. June continued along a well-used trail to the RR grade and more heavily marked red pines. She crossed the RR grade then abruptly changed direction and climbed a small (20’?) red pine that had obvious bear-broken branches at the top. She initially seemed to just sniff the branches. Then she appeared to be rubbing her genitals on the tree or branches. She then proceeded to break two branches – grabbing them with her teeth and using her paw to assist in bringing them towards the center of the tree until they broke. I recorded a sequence of still shots of this marking behavior with my digital camera.
"Look at me!" - July 15, 2004I called Lynn to tell him what was going on – and he decided to bring a video camera out to me – we knew it would be too late for this incident but he thought it would be worth it. [This was the start of my carrying a video camera during my walks with June.]
While talking to Lynn on my cell phone and trying to follow June, I lost her for a time. I dug out the receiver and antenna, and, as I was standing on a log trying to decide which direction to head, I noticed she was on the other end of the log walking towards me. I really got the sense that she found me – perhaps attracted to the sound of the receiver. I couldn’t follow her at this point because Lynn called back from Trygg Road and I walked out to meet him and pick up the video camera. It then took me a while to locate her again but I finally found her rolling rocks and licking up ant pupae. From 3:15 PM until 5:33 PM she foraged on; ant pupae, American fly honeysuckle, blueberries, wild calla lily leaves, wild lettuce, dewberry, and hazelnuts (green, unripe).
Of note during this time:
- June spent a lot of time sniffing around a trailer with a rundown porch attached. The place looked like it hadn’t been used for a long time.
- June approached a well-tended cabin and went up onto the porch. She sniffed around and then stood on her hind legs to paw and bite a huge hornet nest that was hanging there as decoration.
- At one point she dug fairly extensively under a log and appeared to be assessing its den potential.
- She stepped into the woods after foraging in a fairly clear area. I had been very close to her while she was in the open, but as soon as I stepped into the woods to follow her she ran back to the open area and sat facing me. She seemed to have forgotten I was following her.
- • A total of 3 scats were collected during this walk.