Aster - Sept 14 2013Back in business today after the Utah trip, and Aster is almost back in her usual territory. After moving 13 miles north northwest this past week, she moved over 10 miles south the last couple days to an accessible area. Lynn wondered if she had regained some use of her leg to be traveling that far. She was due for a GPS battery change, so Lynn walked in on her.
AsterAster has not noticeably improved, and she wasn’t interested in having her batteries changed. Lynn found her lying on her right side on a cushy mound of deep moss in a cedar/alder swamp with her bad left leg stretched out. She looked at Lynn who was 25 feet away and layed her head back down. Her collar was twisted so the GPS unit was making only occasional contact with the satellite. She seemed tired after the long trip on 3 legs.
She was extra shy, as might be expected for 3 reasons.
- The wind was blowing, making the woods sound like danger all around.
- She was out of her territory. Other bears we’ve tried to approach outside their usual ranges have also been shy. We remember the last time we saw Cal a few years ago. He was dozens of miles outside his mother’s territory, searching for a place to establish a mating range. Cal had always been confident around us while he was in his mother June’s territory. However, the first time we tried to change his batteries once he dispersed, he cautiously came to us after we had tried enticing him for hours. The second time, he saw us at a distance, bolted, and would have nothing to do with us.
- The third reason for Aster to be shy is that she is injured and vulnerable. She allowed an approach to within 15 feet but that was it. Lynn watched her lick the exit wound on the inner side of her left front upper leg then put her head down and close her eyes. He tossed a couple nuts that landed close enough for her to reach without getting up. She ate the nuts, but when Lynn tried to edge closer, she got up and hobbled away on 3 legs even though she had heard “It’s me bear.' She carried her left front leg the same way she carried it a couple weeks ago. A short way away, she lay down in another moss bed.
AsterSo today, there was no battery change, heart rate measurement, or righting Aster’s collar. This evening, her GPS locations show her still to be in the moss bed where Lynn left her to rest. Other than getting up and leaving, she showed no expressions of nervousness or signs of fear. She just got up and moved a few feet away, showing she wasn’t in a mood for a visitor.
We hope Aster will soon be more receptive to a visitor and a battery change. If she won’t allow a battery change, we hope she shows us her den before the batteries expire. It’s good to be back and in the woods with bears.
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.