Fern at entrance of den - Oct 9, 2012Jewel and cubs are in a den. Last night at 8:00 PM, they were 3/4 of a mile away and foraging. Then GPS signals stopped. Today we homed in on her telemetry signal to give her a new GPS unit. Her signal seemed close but we couldn’t see the usual patch of black through the trees. Then, through the balsam fir trees, we saw the dirt. A den. A den so freshly dug that hardly a leaf had fallen on the sand flung up to 12 feet from the den. Sand coated the nearby balsam boughs. Pure sand. No rocks in this den!
Fern emerges from den - Oct 9, 2012We made our way around to see the entrance. Shortly, Fern’s little face appeared, but she shyly stayed in the den. After maybe 5 minutes of equivocal behavior on our part, we said, “It’s me bear.” The reaction was immediate. They heard the familiar cadence and tones and emerged. Recognizing us by sight would be hard when we wear different clothes and sometimes a hat. It must be confusing. But the familiar sound is something they have learned to trust.
We saw that Jewel’s collar was upside down, making transmission of GPS signals difficult. That and her being in a den would explain the lack of GPS signals. We easily changed the GPS unit and left, feeling privileged for the opportunities these special bears give to us and all Lily Fans. We said “Thank you bears” as usual.
Jewel climbs over the mound of sand she dug out - Oct 9, 2012The rest of this day of rain, snow, and sleet was spent working with the contractor and architect on how to cut costs for the new building. Donna Rogers braved the elements to plant bulbs in her flower gardens in front of the Bear Center.
We erred in saying the Bear Encounters book would be out before Christmas. The publisher is saying spring.
If the words Smartboard, Whiteboard, and video conferencing are part of your life, we could use your help with equipment that will be part of the Hope Learning Center’s multi-media classroom. We hope there is a Lily Fan who can help us maximize the value of this and other technology in expanding our Education Outreach in 2013. Construction on the new building will start at the end of this month and continue into spring. Then, as soon as we can pull things together, we want to go to work. If you can help, go to the Volunteer tab at bear.org and fill out a volunteer application.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center