June checks the air - Oct 10, 2012 Sue checked on bears while Lynn caught up on deadline paperwork. First stop, 11-year-old June at her favorite den. Last time she used it she set a record. She was the only bear to use the same den 3 times, and she used it 3 times in a row. Last year, she denned elsewhere, but this year she is back for a 4th usage. Along the way, she crawled in and out of Lily’s den of last winter but settled on her old favorite.
June yawns - Oct 10, 2012After a big yawn and a test of the air, June came out readily. Sue removed her plastic strips, ribbons, and GPS unit, leaving only the radio-collar. June is a treasure. She should have cubs in January. She continues to teach more about black bear ecology than any bear has ever taught in this study or any other.
June 'un-decorated' - Oct 10, 2012Next stop, yearling Faith, also at a den. She was out of the den when Sue arrived. She hesitated to come and seemed about to spook, but finally decided everything was okay and came confidently to have her ribbons removed. Sue recognized the spot as the same place she had found Faith on July 17. Could she have been checking out the den or making it that early? Back on July 19, 2004, Sue videotaped Faith’s grandmother June digging a den where she would produce her first litter that winter. Does early creation of dens run in the family? Sue didn’t see any dirt on Faith’s nose on July 17, so it’s just speculation.
Faith hesitates - Oct 10, 2012Glenn and Nancy checked on 12-year-old Dot and her 3 cubs and found them in a rock den Dot has never used before. We don’t know how long Dot has been there because her batteries expired over a week ago. Dot and her cubs were seen nearly a mile and a half away from the den a couple days ago, so she may be newly in it since then.
Faith 'un-decorated' - Oct 10, 2012With all or nearly all the bears we know settling into dens, it is interesting to compare with bears in northern New Jersey. According to a report we saw, bears there are “still very active.” Most bears there won’t den up until after Thanksgiving (like Ted and Honey do). Habitat in New Jersey differs in that they have fall foods. By contrast, in our study area in northeastern Minnesota, oaks are very uncommon and we have no hickory nuts or beech nuts. Our berries (except for mountain ash, which is uncommon) disappeared over a month ago.
Faith's den - Oct 10, 2012Bears in New Jersey are enjoying a good year for white oak and red oak acorns. White oak acorns are a favorite. A few raspberries and blackberries still hang on. Many farms still have standing corn and sunflowers where rain was sufficient. With the good food year, nuisance complaints were down 40-50 percent as bears foraged on wild foods. New Jersey Dept of Fish and Wildlife says the lack of bear sightings is because of bear hunts there the last 2 years.
The report from New Jersey also told of the death of 31-year-old Samantha who was fed by a homeowner near Wawayanda State Park nearly her whole life. Many would say a bear like Samantha would have gotten into trouble. Many would say she would have been among the first bears killed in the bear hunts. But she didn’t and she wasn’t. She very well could have been the oldest bear in New Jersey. New Jersey Fish and Game radio-tracked her in recent years and found her dead deep in a swamp this past spring. They aged her at 31 from her dental annuli. The age fits the records of the homeowner who fed her all those years. In recent years, Samantha turned partly gray, seemed hard of hearing, and her eyes turned cloudy. The homeowner said she walked like she was old—maybe arthritis, which has been reported in wild bears. On some days, old Samantha would sit next to the homeowner and be stroked. She was totally calm and trusting with the homeowner and never showed the slightest aggression. May Samantha rest in peace.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center