June re-collared! A call came this morning that June had been spotted. We rushed into action. She had shown up at a feeding station and was recognized even without her radio-collar. We grabbed a collar and hurried over.
June seldom ever visits the WRI but occasionally visits community feeding stations. Yesterday, we put the word out that she had dropped her collar—but hadn’t dared hope she would visit a feeding station this soon. We’re so glad she did. She was super and cooperative as usual when we put her collar back on.
Lynn collars JuneThis bear has provided so much information about bear life. People can see some of it among the 60 video exhibits at the Bear Center. The majority of them feature June, now in her 10th year of being accompanied as she goes about her life. She is the bear so used to Sue Mansfield being near her that she pays no attention and just goes about minding her cubs and making a living.
ColeHaving a video camera near as she opens an ant log and licks up the pupae is just part of June’s life. If the camera is ever in the way, she just nudges it aside with her nose and continues without a pause. If she even bothers to look at the camera or Sue, we wonder why. It’s like Sue doesn’t exist. June has her wild agenda.
EmberWhile Sue is trying to document June’s life, June is paying attention to forest sounds, smells, sights, and where her cubs are. She is exploring den possibilities. She is maintaining her territory by scent-marking and chasing down other bears and evicting them. She is tracking down mates or being tracked down. Her mates, like Big Harry, are also accustomed to Sue. She takes long naps with her cubs—seemingly oblivious that there is another presence taking notes and video, counting breaths and heart beats (if a moving hair lets the heart beats be counted). Every year her data is more valuable in the context of the past. June is irreplaceable in our lifetimes.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.