Low sweet blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium) - June 5, 2012Today, we kept an eye on the GPS’d bears via our computers and saw only one bear in the flesh—yearling Daisy, daughter of Bow. The GPS’d bears moved little on this warm day. We wondered if June was with Big Harry, but she was too far from a road to try to catch up to her and the movements she made did not bring her closer. If a bear is moving away in the woods, it’s nearly impossible to catch up.
Juneberries (Amelanchier spp.) - June 5, 2012Lynn started the windless, beautiful morning high on the overlook featured in Bearwalker of the Northwoods. The purpose was to photograph forest habitat in morning sun for the upper walls of the Hope Education Building. Bears here meet an unusual variety of wildlife species in an unusual variety of habitats, making this area one of the most species-rich places in North America. For example, the Superior National Forest has more breeding bird species than any other national forest. The reason? This area is a “transition” zone between the deciduous forest to the south and the coniferous forest to the north. This transition forest has components of both, providing a rich diversity of habitats to support a great diversity of wildlife species. The diversity is also reflected in the foods available to bears here, although they sorely miss the nuts and acorns of the deciduous forest.
The recent rains have enlarged the blueberries and juneberries and it looks like a good crop of each coming on. We love it when there is food for the bears—for their sake and ours. The more natural food there is, the less we worry about bears getting into trouble like Jo did.
At the Bear Center we met with the people building the new kiosk for the nature trails, saw an old friend who has helped the Bear Center, and visited with a dear Lily Fan friend who unexpectedly lost her mother, also a Lily Fan friend.
We are reviewing the PowerPoint presentations that Bear Center staff and Education Outreach leaders are preparing for the Bear Center and the Speakers’ Bureau. Progress.
Some of you have wondered why we are still posting videos from May 12. Because the footage is so good we want to share! We weren't able to share it timely because Sue used one of the BBC cameras that day (at their request) and we had to figure out how to use the different format. So, here are the last 2 videos from the May 12 walk with Jewel, Herbie, and Fern—http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q-8849SiSs and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEEtJgnfaeo.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center