Colleen in den - Sept 17, 2012Colleen is in a deep rock den that looks a lot like Lily and Faith’s den of this past winter. It’s a chimney about 6 feet down with side compartments at the bottom. Colleen has eluded us these past 2 winters, and we believe it’s because she has denned in deep rock dens. Finding her den today helps confirm that belief because it shows there are such dens in the general area where her signal has disappeared—and it shows she will choose such a den.
On her way to this den, she spent several days near where we lost her signal last year. We now want to check that spot (a long walk in through dense forest) for the signals of her two collars that disappeared these past 2 winters. We expect to find the collars deep in a den or two. We are glad that the telemetry batteries on modern radio-collars last for years. It is the GPS portion of the collars that require battery changes every 10 days or so.
Telltale raking outside Colleen's den - Sept 17, 2012We found Donna bear’s slipped collar today, but we’re not worried. We thought we were walking in on her den and were disappointed to find only her collar. It was near a bed, so she likely slipped it off while grooming. Last year she slipped it off while marking a tree. She has a habit of losing collars so we have much less data on 12-year-old Donna than we have on her sister Dot.
We keep finding wonderful things that the Lily Fan volunteers did here at the Research Center these past 2 weeks. Today, we saw what a great job they did patching the door so cold air won’t blow in this winter. The last two volunteers left today. We’re in the process of adjusting and feeling deep appreciation.
Meanwhile, other Lily Fans are helping with invitations and press releases about the upcoming ground breaking for the 100-foot expansion of the North American Bear Center. It will include the Hope Learning Center and the Northwoods Ecology Exhibit and be a major step toward educating on the scale we have dreamed.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center