Honey and TedA girl has a right to change her mind. Honey is now as friendly toward Ted as we’ve ever seen her. When Ted was locked in his pen (Lucky’s turn to be out), Honey waited outside for him. They snuggled against each other when he came out. Honey sat relaxed against a tree while Ted lay beside her. They moved deeper into the forest together. We doubt they will actually mate. They never have yet. But it is heartwarming to see the companionship between these bears. They know each other. They have lived together most of their lives.
Honey waits for TedMeanwhile, Lucky showed he knows how to live the good life. Yesterday, he soaked in the pond when it was hot, and he has now explored the newest object in his world—the new enrichment tree. We now know he is willing to climb it, and we are excited to put treats in the higher branches so visitors on the balcony viewing area can watch him climb up to their level while they get pictures and video of it happening. One more thing to keep him active and engaged.
Lucky cools off in the pondLily Fans asked if the bear in yesterday’s update was hit by a vehicle (yes) and if we knew the female that stayed with him. We didn’t get a good enough look at the female. When Lynn hurried there, he wore the wrong glasses (reading glasses) and the female was across the highway and heading away when he noticed her. She looked big enough to be RC but could have been Samantha. We wish we knew. It’s possible the male will carry on his genes through a litter.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird The best way to start a day, especially in times of stress, is to sit outside at first light and look and listen as the forest awakens. The highlight on this calm morning was a Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) landing nearby and engaging in some looking and listening himself.
Coming in for a landingThe day ended with Lynn reviewing perhaps the best chapter about bears he’d ever seen. 17 years in the making, it was about the forest ecology and conservation side of Lynn’s work. To write it, the authors must have read everything Lynn ever wrote about bears. Every word was accurate. The authors did amazing research to bring in quotes from other researchers on topics of magnetite, physiology, and philosophy to make paragraph after paragraph sparkle. Unfortunately, the book won’t be out until 2014.
Rooms take shape in new additionOne of the quotes was from Jeff Fair, author of the Great American Bear, saying, “Here is a creature that can weigh a quarter ton or more, hang by its teeth, and haul down a fully grown Rocky Mountain bull elk in deep snow, but which prefers to climb trees to escape danger, and teases hazelnuts, one by one, from the forest litter. A predator by formal definition, a carnivore by taxonomic rank, it has evolved further away from carnivorous traditions than man himself. Due to this choice of foods—a choice made, in the evolutionary sense, twenty-five million years ago and which first made the bear line distinct—the black bear’s entire ecology, including breeding, productivity, survival, population density, even social organization, is a function of the annual distribution and abundance of tiny fruits and nuts. The production of these foods is controlled and delimited in part by the same cold season which shaped bear physiology."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.