Jewel chews her footpads - Feb 9, 2013 There is no better way to learn about bears than from the bears themselves. We’re excited to think of students seeing and hearing life size or larger black bears on the screen with surround sound—watching and learning as the bears go about their lives foraging, nursing, digging dens, etc. A human educator will help by describing what the students are seeing and answering questions, but the bears will be the true educators. Powerful images will give students a true feel of what black bears really are. This may be the only place they will see real bears in action—making a living in the wild.
Herbie - Feb 9, 2013No one else in the world is recording these kinds of images of black bears at work. That’s why you don’t see black bears doing natural behaviors in TV documentaries other than the ones filmed here. There’s no way to see bears in the forest unless they trust you, which is what makes these few radio-collared bears so valuable to research and education. Their trust for researchers—acquired over years—is giving unprecedented insights. Older research bears like June are irreplaceable in our lifetimes.
Jewel - Feb 9, 2013What these bears show is so different from TV programs made with well-fed captive bears that are released briefly to do trained behaviors like standing up and opening their mouths on command. After roars are dubbed in, the footage grabs viewers. Fear sells and people think they’re learning from the bears themselves when they see trained bears performing on TV. The Hope Learning Center will give another view.
Restless Herbie - Feb 9, 2013A big ‘Thank You’ for the boost on the GiveMN page at http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Valentines-For-The-Hope-Learning-Center! We’ve reached 75% of our goal for technical equipment for the Hope Learning Center classroom. The Hope Learning Center will spread the message of truth. Thank you for helping.
Herbie stands on Fern and wakes Jewel as he shifts position - Feb 9, 2013We caught some restless activity in Jewel’s den early today. Check the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bECJIW9_sLo and see what you think!
We are fairly desperate to have Lily’s Den Cam transmitting again. The Technology Team is preparing, but we have a storm bearing down on us. We’ll take it as it comes and do our best.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center