Lily and female cubAt 3:00 PM CT, there was a commotion in Lily’s den. The male cub was noisily nursing on Lily’s left side and the female was not happy! Lily seemed to nudge her towards Lily’s right side, but that wasn’t what the female wanted. She popped out of the fray, looked around, and then dove back in to fight for what she wanted. 
Female cub peeks outThe male stopped vocalizing and may have dozed off—but was still hanging on to the top nipple. The feisty little female cub managed to literally pry him off the nipple and began suckling. This was in full view of the Den Cam and the video is online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgUYOr2ya8w. Competition over nipple is serious business for cubs as they work out dominance issues. We’ll see how this litter eventually works it out. A video of other activities in Lily's den is posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMPbpHf2huQ.
Lily and cubs (male L, female R)About that same time, Jewel’s yearlings wanted to nurse. Jewel eventually accommodated, but Fern was in a position that kept Herbie from getting to ‘his’ nipples. Herbie was loud and insistent. Jewel mouthed his face in a friendly way and put a paw on his head as he sounded almost ferocious, but all the while he was gentle with Jewel and did nothing to dislodge Fern. 
Herbie paws Jewel's muzzleJewel was getting conflicting messages. Fern’s pulsing hum told her to stay still, which she mostly did, while Herbie’s pleas told her to adjust position and accommodate. Eventually, Herbie moved to his side, Jewel sat up, and both yearlings could reach. A video of this interaction is posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOBHxqmO1yA.
female cub attempts to climb in as male cub nursesWe’re glad the microphones are nicely situated with the sounds being recorded into the archives. We can later make them part of a catalog of bear sounds and likely have them in the Language section of the Bear Center.
Can you tell Lily's cubs apart?Some have wondered how we are telling Lily's cubs apart. We've included some images tonight that we hope show that better. The male cub has a flatter forehead and a more pronounced browline than the female. Her forehead is more rounded and slopes gently toward her muzzle without a definite browline.
Lily's cubs - take a guess!Today, the check from GiveMN for $11,666.87 arrived thanks to your efforts in the Valentines for the Hope Learning Center fundraising campaign in mid-February.
Jim Stroner's photo "Black Bear Emerging From Den" has been chosen as one of the 11 finalists in the ScienceFriday competition. Each person has one and only one vote in this final round of the competition. Voting is at http://tinyurl.com/bhj5v3h and Jim's photo is #11. Voting ends Friday March 15.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All pictures taken today unless otherwise noted.