Aspen catkins - a bear foodLucky went beyond expectations today. He is still in the small holding pen, but you can’t keep a good bear down. In fact, it’s hard to keep a bear from being a bear. Aspen catkins are bursting all over the forest, and they are a spring bear food that’s about 14% protein. Lucky climbed all the way to the top of this big aspen tree in his small holding pen and was breaking branches just like bears in the wild do.
View from back of bear penThe view from the back of the pen shows several aspen trees scattered through the enclosure, so he has likely climbed those trees in previous springs for the same reason. You can see the roof of the Bear Center as a light line in the distance. Just below that roofline is where visitors stand on the outdoor viewing balcony to watch the bears at the pond and at the edge of the woods. The visible area from the balcony is maybe a tenth of the total enclosure. The beauty of the enclosure is that Mother Nature provides a sequence of natural enrichment to keep the bears working and thinking throughout the active seasons.
Lucky and Ted greet through fenceLucky also went beyond expectations in his dealings with Ted the last couple days. It’s almost like each wants to mend fences with their old friend. Yesterday, Ted and Lucky were nose to nose at the fence and extending their tongues in a mutual gesture of friendship. Today, there were at the fence friendly again. We hope that without Lucky’s driving force of testosterone that they can be buddies again. It sure looked like it the last couple days.
Hazel flower and catkinsLily, Eli, and Ellie stayed all day at the same spot they have been for 6 days. About 7:30 PM, they left and by 8:25 PM they had settled 0.23 miles away—close to the area Lily spent so much time with Hope during her first spring. We’ll see what she does in the next couple days.
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Eagles on Woods Lakehe eagles revealed the secret of their interest in our tiny lake. They are after fish frozen into the melting ice. Nine very wary bald eagles sat on the ice or cruised over it searching with eagle eyes. We watched them scratch the ice and come up with fish only a few inches long. This lake (or pond) has a mucky bottom that devours the oxygen, forcing fish to surface for air, only to become trapped in the ice as the lake freezes. Now the surface of the ice is melting fast with temperatures in the 60’s F and strong winds and sunshine today. We didn’t get a picture of the eagles catching a fish, but the photo shows two of them patiently waiting for more ice to melt. The photo was taken with a long lens from one and a half tenths of a mile away. Last year, the lake was ice-free by March 24.
Pine warbler returnsThe late spring didn’t faze the faithful Pine Warbler (Dendroica pinus) that lives here. It arrived back on time this evening. In the 12 years we have been marking his return, 6 returns were later than today (May 1-6) and 5 returns were earlier (April 21-27).
The Bear Educators are taking hold. Five of them remained after the Bear Educator Course this past weekend—three working at the Bear Center and two working at the Research Center for the next couple days. All much needed. A team of 8 volunteers will arrive to help with spring chores this weekend. Much appreciated!
The same is true for a Lily Fan couple that called from Florida today. They are having a big bull moose mounted at one of the nation’s top taxidermy studios to be shipped here later this summer for the new exhibit. Major.
Thank you doesn’t seem enough to say sometimes. So many are doing so much.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.