Juneberry (Amelanchier) scat - July 12, 2012We walked with Juliet and cubs for 3 hours this afternoon. Juliet produced a large scat shortly after we joined her and it told us how she spent her morning. It was full of bright reddish-brown Juneberry seeds.
Juliet's cub Sam - July 12, 2012Initially, Juliet was alone—no cubs in sight—but she seemed unconcerned. One by one the cubs joined her until all 4 bears were together… briefly! Juliet’s cubs are pretty independent now and are each foraging on their own. Generally, Juliet just keeps moving and foraging and the cubs eventually appear. On one occasion she sat at the base of a cedar and waited until 2 cubs were with her—and the third was on its way—before moving on.
Black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta) - July 12, 2012Ant pupae were the food of choice for Juliet and cubs today—protein and fat to balance out the morning of berries. The cubs stopped for berries as well—juneberry (Amelanchier spp.), wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), and alder-leaf buckthorn (Rhamnus alnifolia). They quickly recognize juneberry bushes and climb the stems to bend them to the ground to feed on the berries.
We found it’s not as easy to approach the wounded yearling (Oliana?) in the woods when she hasn’t been treed! Today we located her signal in an area of cedars, but it was a full 40 minutes before she was confident enough to approach us for her medication. Her wound is changing but has a long way to go before it’s healed.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center