Sharon - Sept 15, 2012 Bear hunting season officially runs through October 14th, but hunting pressure will be light after this weekend. Both the deer bow hunt season and the small game season opened today and many hunters have switched to grouse hunting.
All radio-collared bears are accounted for. June and Lily are known to be in dens. We suspect Donna, Colleen, and Ursula are in dens as well. All are expected to have cubs this winter. Braveheart has left the area where she worked on a den. She is notorious for denning late—even when pregnant. We are anxious to see if she returns to the den she has worked on. Braveheart is also notorious for switching dens.
Fall foliage - Sept 14, 2012The work crew, which has been here since before the bear hunt began, will leave over the next couple days. They leave behind many successfully completed projects—for which we are deeply grateful. In addition to the cleaning, clearing, and repairing, they have faithfully tracked the non-GPSed bears several times a day. They also assisted in locating the bears with failed GPS units. We don’t know what we would have done without them during this hectic time.
The Bear Center Gift Shop’s ‘Fall Savings Sale’ began last night at midnight. Customers can get a jump start on their holiday online shopping and save up to 50% off on select merchandise. Check http://www.bear.org/website/gift-shop.html for details. Watch for more special offers and new holiday merchandise coming in November. The 2013 calendars are in the final design stages now and should be ready for October.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center