Meet June’s cubs—Ember and Cole. We’re a bit slow naming cubs this year, but as we see them more and get a sense of their personalities, names will come.
June’s cubs were a surprise. In the past, her cubs have looked so much alike it was hard to tell them apart. These two cubs don’t even look related. They are vastly different in size and coloring. Can these both be Big Harry’s offspring? Makes us wonder.
Ember is smaller and has an unusually dark face. She was the shier of the two last spring, but she's become the more confident cub and appears to be the dominant one.
Cole’s light face reminds us of Lily’s, and he is huge! In spite of his size, he seems tentative and unsure of himself.
The size difference between these two cubs is surprising but not all that unusual. Braveheart has had 3 litters with one cub smaller than the others. In fact, Mickey was half the size of his brother (and buddy) Dale when they were cubs.
We’re looking forward to the many activities surrounding the Lilypad Picnic this weekend. We’ve been so busy preparing for Monday’s meeting that we haven’t paid much attention to the weekend schedule. Hopefully folks will point us in the right direction at the right time.
We're optimistic that Monday’s meeting with Governor Dayton will move us closer to a resolution. As we’ve said before, we’re hoping for fairness, an injunction, and an investigation.
Due to the busy weekend ahead and additional prep for our meeting, there will be no updates until Monday night (July 22). Have a great weekend!
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All photos taken July 8, 2013.