Burt - July 2, 2012We began this first full day of the Black Bear Field Course with a visit to Lily and watched from a distance as she tore into a rotting stump reaching down through the rotting wood and below it. When she was done, she walked off without a word.
Jani - July 2, 2012Next was a visit to see what Lily’s den of 2010 looks like today. Good memories standing there remembering her coming out and all that happened in the den with Hope.
Along the way, we saw ducks, loons, beautiful warblers, and other wildlife.
Braveheart rests - July 2, 2012We visited Braveheart who was spending this hot, humid day in a densely shaded damp area surrounded by black ash, cedar, and balsam fir. She was lying on her sparsely furred belly with her head pillowed on a mossy log. She raised her head and put it down and closed her eyes. We saw that she was simply resting and left.
Other bears we saw included big brown 8-year-old Krackle, little yearlings Daisy and Jani, mild-mannered 7-year-old Burt, and his radio-collared littermate Ursula.
It was a fun day despite the heat.
Meanwhile, good things were happening in the cyberworld of Lily Fans.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center