Lily emerging from her den - Sept 10, 2012 Shortly after 7:42 AM, Lily entered a den. The story begins in last night’s update when we recalled Lily being only a hundred feet from this den on August 31, when we found her in a lethargic state with a heart rate of only 57 beats per minute. We wondered if she could be slowing down that early. It got us looking around the area for a potential den. The most likely spot was an opening in a brush pile, but there was no definite sign she had investigated it. It had never been used as a den. Yesterday, when we saw her GPS locations heading for that spot, we wondered. This morning, her GPS locations ended.
Lily outside of her den - Sept 10, 2012Her GPS unit was due for new batteries so we figured it had quit. We set off to locate her. Her radio signal led us to the huge brush pile. She was deep inside—out of sight. The brush pile looked the same as it had on August 31—no sign of alterations or raking. As we snapped a few pictures, we could hear movement inside. Soon we could see her ribbons as she came out to see us.
Lily's brush pile den - Sept 10, 2012The lights on her GPS unit were still flashing green, but we changed the batteries anyway as she readily ate the pecans we brought. As soon as the nuts were gone, she returned to the den. The brush pile is tall enough and dense enough that it seems to block GPS signals. With a fresh set of batteries, we will know if and when she leaves the den to rake in bedding—likely within the next week.
Bald-faced hornet nest remains - Sept 10, 2012The hornet nest we pictured in the update of August 31 was less than a hundred feet from the den and torn to pieces. A bear, most likely Lily, had gotten to it in these past 10 days before we could collect it for the Bear Center. We’re good with that. It's hornet time for the bears.
St Lawrence Tiger Moth Caterpillar - Sept 10, 2012On our way back from Lily’s den, we saw a different sort of bear crossing the road. What we first thought was a Wooly Bear Caterpillar turned out to be a Tiger Moth Caterpillar.
LimoniteMeanwhile, the volunteers at the Research Center accomplished a lot of hard work. A recent task we are particularly delighted with was recovering the unidentified yellow rock Donna and Lynn found on their Thanksgiving walk on November 25, 2011. They wanted the rock for the collection in front of the Bear Center. Three strong volunteers managed to wrestle the 250-pound rock into the back of a pickup truck and deliver it to its display position at the Bear Center. It is now identified as Limonite.
Another onerous task completed today was cleaning the corrugated roofing under the second floor deck—a difficult and messy job. We're very thankful!
The Hope Education Building might get a name change. Anyone who is not a Lily Fan is confused by the name that fits so well for us. The name most often suggested is the Education and Ecology Building. Of course, the building is dedicated to the legacy of Hope. Her picture and story will be on a plaque inside the entrance. With this building, her message will never die. Ground-breaking is September 30.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center