Chokecherry blossoms hang heavy after a rainLast night at 9 PM, Dot was still with her big male suitor. Glenn had planned to change her GPS batteries but the big male got in the way. Today, at 6:15 PM, 5 miles from the last location, Glenn and Nancy found Dot alone and changed her batteries. Is this mating season over for Dot?
Lilacs in bloomToday, 2-year-old Faith surprised us by disappearing from our computer screen for 2 hours and then reappearing 2.4 miles northwest at 1:44 PM—right where her 8-year-old aunt Ursula was. Their GPS locations then showed Ursula moving away and Faith following. Then they each sent a GPS reading from nearly the exact same spot 0.37 miles away—Faith at 4:52 PM and Ursula at 4:57 PM. By 5:18 PM Ursula was back to where the she had been—presumably where she had left her cubs—and by 5:35 PM Faith was continuing to move away. It appears Ursula shagged Faith out of her territory. All of this would have been missed if they weren’t both collared and wearing GPS units.
Walls going up!Over the weekend, 3 Bear Educators volunteered 42 hours working at the Bear Center. We thank all these volunteers and the many others who are doing so much. We also saw that the BFF team put together a wonderful summary of courtship and mating that they will post on Thursday.
Inside the Bear Center's new addition, things are taking shape—the studs are going up for the walls. It's becoming easier to visualize the spaces we'll soon be working to fill.
The chokecherry buds are beginning to burst and lilacs are nearly in full bloom. The evening air is filled with the scent of blossoms and a chorus of spring peepers and gray tree frogs.
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.