Herbie and Fern dig for ant pupae - June 17, 2012
Something gets Jewel's interest as she and cubs dig for ant pupae - June 17, 2012People are asking where the bears have gone. GPS locations from the study bears show their movements—which may reflect activities of the overall bear population. June is exploring an area we hope she doesn’t settle in. It’s too hard to get to. Braveheart moved several miles, passing within a mile of a feeding station but not bothering to stop by. She apparently is finding enough wild food. Sharon has long left the area where a kind-hearted lady was putting food out for her. She has been eating tent caterpillars and has moved deep into a roadless area where it will be hard to change her GPS batteries if she stays there. Lily is accessible and currently resting in a cedar swamp. Faith and Aster don’t have GPS units, so we don’t know where they are today, but recent reports show they are doing well.
Jewel retrieves swimming cub - June 17, 2012
Cub dangles, falls, and runs off - June 17, 2012Jewel, Herbie, and Fern were the bears we observed today. As we closed in on Jewel’s signal, we saw a cub scamper up a pine. We thought we had found them. But the cub was alone, so we continued homing in on the radio signal until we spied Jewel about 50 yards from the pine. Jewel recognized us and came bounding to us with Fern at her heels. As we worked to change Jewel’s batteries, Fern headed off towards the pine tree and Herbie.
Jewel marks an aspen - June 17, 2012Just as we finished changing the batteries, a cub squawked and Jewel immediately ran off in that direction. We began to follow, but she met us halfway with both cubs this time. She finished off the nuts then headed back in the direction she initially came from—to an opening dominated by a sprawling open-grown aspen. The old claw marks on the tree showed this aspen was no stranger to bears. The cubs immediately climbed the tree while Jewel began to forage on ant pupae in logs and miscellaneous vegetation nearby.
Fern climbs a red pine sapling - June 17, 2012Play was minimal today. The cubs were following their noses and working hard to find food. Ant colonies too small for Jewel were of great interest to the cubs—especially ones under moss that the cubs could easily uncover.
Jewel waded into a lake to feed on arrowhead (Sagittaria spp.). One cub followed. Of course wading for Jewel meant swimming for the cub. Fun to see. The second cub showed up too late for a swim.
We’re looking forward to the Lilypad Picnic July 20-22. Trish Kirk, head of the Speakers Bureau, will be at the Bear Center signing up speakers. She has put together a fast-moving well illustrated PowerPoint presentation that speakers can proudly present.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center