FaithUnbelievably, Ted and Honey touched tongues as they both vied to be near Cindy, the woman who raised them until they came to live at the Bear Center in late April 2007. They have not forgotten her. Around Cindy, they behave in ways we never see otherwise.
Honey approached and leaned up against the fence for Cindy to scratch her and remove some of the old hair that is being shed. She was more relaxed than usual, lying on her side against the fence.
To get in position, Honey braved being near Big Ted who was sitting calmly near Cindy, obviously enjoying the closeness. Honey came near. Tension mounted. They had words. Honey wanted to be near Cindy, too, though. She edged closer. She looked at Ted from very close, extended her tongue in a display of friendship, and Ted responded in kind—twice. Cindy cried.
FaithWe haven’t seen that kind of interaction between Ted and Honey since they arrived here. Is it a breakthrough? We’ll follow the story. Cindy will be visiting a couple times a month now.
Today, with Faith in a slightly more accessible area, Sue was able to connect with her and change her GPS batteries.
During the Black Bear Field Course, we experimented to see if hummingbirds recognize individual humans. Two hummingbird feeders were hanging 2 feet apart under the eaves. The regular white-haired keeper of the hummingbirds stood a foot from one feeder, a dark-haired stranger stood a foot from the other. Hummingbirds fed from the feeder by the white-haired person but not by the dark-haired stranger. The people switched places. Again the hummingbirds fed only by the white-haired person. He didn’t want the dark-haired stranger to get a complex, so they stood quietly another 5 minutes until the hummingbirds were coming equally to both feeders, flying within inches of each and letting them feel the wind of the wings. Conclusion: The hummingbirds initially avoided the new person but after 5 minutes decided she was okay, too.
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.