Fern, Jewel, and HerbieToday we received the embed code for the PTZ camera outside Jewel’s den—enabling us to put it online for all to see. And just in time! Jewel and both yearlings were playing in front of their den—with each other, trees, and the Den Cam cables!
Jewel and yearling outsideWe held our breath as they pulled and chewed on the cables. One of the yearlings detached the PVC pipe containing the microphone and pulled it into the den. The Den Cam tube is safe because the middle of the long tube is covered with icy snow. It’s frozen in place. 
Jewel drags a wandering yearling backBut everything else is fair game for curious bears anxious for an end to their confinement to a den. We hope they tire of the Cable Chew Game soon.
Videos of Jewel and her yearlings outside today are Part I http://youtu.be/hUHpCxD3qpE, and Part II http://youtu.be/Rc0ZLyfw_gY.
Jewel and yearlings eat snowLily and family continue to be active inside and outside their den. The disputes over nipples have risen to the level of true fights now—biting, twisting, and vocalizing. Lily blows when Eli and Ellie fight and that stops them temporarily. 
Cubs nurseWe heard low moans from Lily after these fights. We’ve always thought of bears moaning in fear. We need to think more on moaning and the possibility of different intensities having different meanings.
Ellie licks icicleVideos from yesterday of Lily and her cubs are Part I http://youtu.be/un60MOBPtwA, Part II http://youtu.be/Xnz0UFDgyQY, and Part III http://youtu.be/icYtmkgUFtE.
Lily curls her tongue while yawningAt one point today, Lily reached out to pull a cub back into the den. That made us think about the relative vulnerability of cubs at this time of year. We think of the socialization period—when cubs are fearless—as being the period 6-12 weeks of age. But it can vary with rate of development or individual. 
Eli and LilyWe remember Colleen’s den on April 7, 2009, when the male (8 pounds) was a little bigger than his sisters (6 ¾ and 7 pounds). He was past the socialization period, but the females were not. He was very fearful of strangers, but the females were still calm and trusting. We don’t know their date of birth. 
Lily lounges in denIf it was January 21, they would have been nearly 11 weeks old but they may have been older, judging from their good weights.
Ellie bites Lily's footOne of the advantages of the Den Cams is that the cubs we observe are of known age, which we have never had before. We don’t know of anyone who has looked at the socialization period, and we have never seen it mentioned in the bear literature.
Lily and EllieWhat we have never been able to see before Den Cams (and still haven’t with Den Cams) is how cubs might respond to predators. We know that during the socialization period, cubs have no problem being approached and picked up by a human.
Lily relaxes in the denWhen we saw Faith and Jason on April 8, 2011, Faith was becoming wary of people and Jason was not, at exactly 11 weeks of age. We wonder if Jason would have been less wary of a coyote, too.
Ellie and Eli gang up on LilyToday, with Lily’s cubs that were born on January 12 being just 2 days short of 12 weeks of age and well developed, we suspect that both Ellie and Eli would be wary of strangers—both human and animal—and well equipped mentally and physically to follow Lily.
Eli and LilyA couple inches of snow are coming tomorrow evening. We remember a snowfall of over 6 inches on May 2nd, long ago. The mother and cubs we were radio-tracking had been out of their den a couple weeks and had roamed some distance from the den. They hunkered down next to a big log and snuggled through it.
Eli chews curl of birch barkEverything Lily and Jewel and their families do reminds us of past observations that raised more questions than answers. Finally, we can see it all and begin answering the questions. That was also the case when we started walking with bears. 
Ellie cub checks camera, Eli yawnsBefore that, we’d gotten glimpses from airplanes or found sign in the woods we didn’t understand. Questions abounded. When we began walking with bears, we watched them do similar things and could see the whole context. It will take a book (or more) to tell the whole story.
Ellie bites EliToday, we met with the contractors to map out the fence for inside the Bear Enclosure and talk about other construction. We walked up past Ted (in his den), Honey (sitting in front of her den), and Lucky (in his den). 
Ellie does chin-upEarlier, Heidi gave Ted a few leaves of romaine lettuce through the fence while Sharon Herrell went in and poured water into his bowl on this above-freezing day. Ted sniffed the water and ignored it. He has plenty of snow to eat at will. The lettuce was to distract Ted from his occasional attempts to detain visitors. 
Donna Rogers tends the flower beds He is a sweetheart who loves contact with people. On this sunny day, volunteer Donna Rogers began tending the flowers outside the Bear Center.
Eli yawnsWe fielded a call today asking advice about the Duluth bear that came out of his culvert den and is hanging near it like Lily and Jewel are doing. A second call asked advice about a bear that was so unresponsive rescuers pushed it into a portable kennel without tranquilizers. Our best guess for that one, lying a hundred yards off a road near Duluth, is that a vehicle hit it. 
Lily tries a new perspective on lifeLynn remembers 2 bears he helped that were similarly unresponsive. One lived and one died. We wish the best to the bear rescued near Duluth. 
Lily and Ellie gang up on EliBears are evidently coming out and some may even be starting to roam a hundred miles south of here. We haven’t heard of any sightings around Ely yet, but Sue is bringing in her bird feeders.
What’s your best guess when Lily, Eli and Ellie will leave their den for good this year? Post your date in the comment section of the #vzwmidwest blog at http://bit.ly/11Vp929.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.