Blanketed foundation forms await cement - Nov 16, 2012 Today the emphasis was on Den Cams as the Technology Team put their heads together to come up with the best cameras to use. Their sharp minds and “can do” attitudes are bringing everything together for an earlier start this year. We hope to set up most of the equipment the weekend after Thanksgiving and go live the following weekend—December 1-2. Cameras will be installed in the dens of 2 wild bears—Lily (pregnant), and Jewel (with yearlings Fern and Herbie)—as well as the den of the Bear Center’s captive bear Ted.
Seeing the construction proceed for the new addition to the North American Bear Center and seeing your commitment to creating the Hope Learning Center, we can’t help but look ahead. An email today from a man in Switzerland was about a brown bear trying to make a life in Switzerland amidst panic over the sight of a bear. The man wrote “My question to you is the following: does the NABC offer help or information in any form, to countries not used to having wild bears, and where general panic breaks out as soon as an occasional bear is spotted?”
That is one of our goals. It is also a goal for areas in North America where black bears are trying to expand their range or where habitat is available and officials are working to re-build black bear populations. The key to success for all of this is replacing myths with facts. Many Lily Fans have told us how learning the truth about black bears helped them enjoy bear country and become more willing to coexist. Reaching classrooms is all-important. Education can benefit whole populations of bears, including endangered bears around the world.
Thank you for all you did a couple days ago and all you continue to do for bear education.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center