June outside her den - Sept 11, 2012In the woods today, June spent the day resting in her den or out raking bedding for the den. She seemed to be in ‘la-la land’ as she lethargically sat and absently stared before crawling back into her den after getting a change of GPS batteries. Her GPS data will show us what she does next.
Seeing June settling into a den in beautiful 70 degree weather does not surprise us. Mature pregnant females are the first to den up. June and Lily are re-confirming that this year. Pregnant Ursula has barely moved for 2 days and has likely denned. She has fairly fresh batteries in her GPS which will reveal more about her movements in the next week or so. Ursula is more easily disturbed by visits than June or Lily, so we may not confirm that she’s in a den until she has fully settled in.
June returned to her den - Sept 11, 2012Adolescent females, who may be pregnant for the first time, are still active. They are still growing so staying out longer may benefit their future reproductive success. Females continue to grow until they are about age 6.
Mothers with cubs are still out and probably will be out for another month. Dot recently took a trip far north of her usual territory and returned just last night. Tonight, she and her cubs are at Listening Point on the shore of Burntside Lake—where the Planet Earth Live series was filmed last spring! RC seems to have lost a cub. She was last seen with all 3 at 6:50 AM on Sunday the 9th and first seen with 2 cubs at 7:30 PM that evening. It’s not unusual for mothers and cubs to get separated at this time of year—but not for this long.
Deer leg bone in the pile of old bedding June dug out of the den - Sept 11, 2012We hear your voices about the name of the building. We’re encouraged by your enthusiasm for Hope. Hope brought us together as a force for bears. Her name signifies Hope and Opportunity for Progress in Educating about bears. A year ago, we were on a roll, providing more education about bears than ever before, but we saw the focus on education become diluted even though education is the only effective way to save thousands of bears. We began referring to the proposed new wing as the Hope Education Building. We knew the name might bring criticism from some Lily Fans for “stirring emotions,” but we believed the name was right for the building and it still may be. But the name may not resonate with the broader audience we need to educate and we need to make it happen. Above all, we want the building to be built so we can expand our ability to reach out, change attitudes, and save bear populations everywhere. We hear you. We are undecided but re-thinking.
Another archive footage video of June and cubs from 2007 is posted at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXNwmEAow0c.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center