Female cub has more light fur in earsWe expect bears to leave their dens about a month from now. In general, mature males leave first and mothers with cubs are last. Mothers with yearlings are somewhere in between. Timing depends a lot on snow depth and the rate of snowmelt.
Male cub has less light fur in earsOnce Jewel leaves the den, her yearlings are big enough to follow her anywhere. Lily’s movements will be restricted to a small area until her cubs are strong climbers and can more easily navigate obstacles on the ground. 
Which one of Lily's cubs is this?Her cubs are off to a good start, though. They both seem healthy and strong—and the competition for nipples continues! A video of them from today is posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ85nQm50Z8.
Lucky's den entrance nearly buried - March 10, 2013The Bear Center bears—Ted, Lucky, and Honey—could leave their dens sooner. Neither Lucky nor Honey has shown any indication of wanting to venture out. The entrance to Lucky’s den is nearly buried with snow, giving him a ready supply of water—same as other bears, captive or wild.
Honey's den - March 10, 2013Ted came out only when we disturbed him by spreading straw to dull the backlight for his Den Cam. He misunderstood our purpose and raked the straw into the den.
Jewel and her yearlings have gone to the entrance of their den to eat snow and have backed up to the entrance to relieve themselves. Lily has eaten snow and ice and seems to be relieving herself in the back left corner of the den beyond the bed. 
Which one of Lily's cubs is this?Dare we say that we look forward to crawling in there after Lily and the cubs leave to see if there are feces back there as well? Inquiring minds want to know. We’ve seen no indication of the Bear Center bears relieving themselves, but we will check for any evidence once they leave their dens.
Hope Learning Center thaws outThe construction photo shows two heaters by holes cut in the temporary doors and a big light-colored fan to further distribute the heat. The snow inside the new addition has melted, the ground is thawing, and Kraus Anderson Construction Company is gearing up for the next surge forward, which may include work inside the Bear Enclosure.
Can you tell male from female?It was great to see your contributions from the Valentines for the Hope Learning Center added to the thermometer today, bringing the total to $657,477. Thank you!
Lily and (which?) cubOur excitement grew today as we started to pick out paint colors for the walls of the Hope Learning Center—thinking of each room and what the students might like in the big multi-media classroom. Perhaps the best background for the broadcast room, where Educators will do programs for schools, would be a picture of the forest, maybe with bears in it.
Jim Stroner’s picture of Lily is in the finals of the ScienceFriday Winter Nature Photo Contest. 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.