Ted and Lucky - May 11, 2008April 2008 began with a scare. Donna Andrews had gotten us into the biggest outdoor advertising event in the state. Attendance is tens of thousands per day. It was our chance to join the many Ely outfitters who have booths at the Northwest Sports Show in Minneapolis each year. Donna and volunteer Judy McClure took the lead. Other volunteers, including Glenn and Nancy Krause, helped as they could during April 1 to 6, but it was Donna and Judy who manned the booth for long hours day after day. When I drove down to give a lecture on April 5, I saw how fatigued Donna looked. I worried, knowing that she is more subject to fatigue than most. It’s one of the things that has kept her from walking deep into the woods with bears like she’s always wanted. I wanted to stay but couldn’t because of BBC filming responsibilities back in Ely. Donna and Judy were heroic in my eyes for their long days standing and talking at the booth each day. When it was over, Donna walked into a Target Store alone, passed out, and woke up in an ambulance.
Lucky with toy - April 13, 2008When she regained consciousness, she seemed more or less okay and cautiously moved on. We never attempted another event that required long hours in a booth with too little help. Donna Andrews was too valuable to lose. That all happened, of course, before Lily Fans and the tour de force that a dozen Lily Fans produced with us for the Education Minnesota Conference in October 2011.
Lucky with toy - April 13, 2008Back in Ely, Lucky emerged from his den as a yearling in need of mental stimulation. He chased red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus). He carried his old toys around and played with them. In his brief attempts to play with me I noticed he had learned to control his bite, as is typical of yearlings and older bears. Lucky was growing up, and he’d made the advance in bite control even as he hibernated. It was intriguing to watch his mind work as he played and explored.
Lucky eating - April 13, 2008In late April and early May, my favorite time of year, the snow melted, lakes opened up, bird songs brought life to the forest, and Lucky reunited with Ted in a celebration of unfettered play. Ted was an immovable object. Lucky could push on him and jump on him with little effect. Wild play was the rule. They relied on each other for it. With humans, Lucky played more gently, and Ted preferred licking faces.
Lucky with squirrel - April 13, 2008In mid-May, though, Donna Andrews, Sharon Herrell, and Lucky were together in the enclosure when Lucky, still short of a hundred pounds, had an urge to play with Donna. He easily took her down and began gently mouthing her. Donna struggled under his weight and quickly became fatigued. Sharon put her left arm in Lucky’s mouth and her right arm around Lucky’s front legs to move him off Donna. Sharon knew putting an arm in the mouth helps control a playing bear that has learned to control its bite. 
Ted and Lucky - May 11, 2008For yearlings and older bears, play bites are gentle. With her arm in Lucky’s mouth, Sharon could control Lucky for the moment. Sharon hollered at Donna to get up, saying she couldn’t hold Lucky like that for long. Donna was too exhausted and out of breath to get up. Sharon hollered again. Donna struggled to her hands and knees but couldn’t reach the pepper spray in her pocket. Sharon kept her left arm in Lucky’s mouth and used her right hand to get the pepper spray out of Donna’s pocket and spray her own hand. It was the weak kind of pepper spray that shoots a stream like a squirt gun rather than a fog like the more powerful brands. Lucky got a whiff of the spray and had enough. He ran off. After a bit, Donna was able to get up unhurt.
Ted and Lucky - May 11, 2008The incident ended Donna’s face-to-face interactions with Lucky. She knew she had to be cautious in the enclosure while continuing to love Lucky through the fence. Donna has told me over and over that her greatest disappointment at the Bear Center is not being able to walk with Lucky and be ignored like the wild bears ignore Sue and me.
Tomorrow, Lucky—Part 7 – Lucky Outgrows Play
Hawk owl - Dec 16, 2012A treat on the way to work this morning was a Northern Hawk Owl (Surnia ulula) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Hawk-Owl. It’s been years since I’ve seen one. They only occasionally come as far south as Minnesota. Non-migratory birds of the far north are more concerned about food than predators, so I was confident it would ignore me if I openly and nonchalantly zigzagged toward it. It did. It decided I was nothing to worry about and would hardly look at me unless I made a mouse noise. I wonder if it will hang around as one did before. I’ll look for it perched on top of a spruce along the highway tomorrow.
Sue will be back on Wednesday.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center