Woods by Trygg Road Lily, Faith, Jewel, Aster, and Ursula are safe for now. Juliet is snug in her obscure den. Fern and Herbie were each spotted today. Star doesn’t have a GPS unit but was moving and apparently fine when Lorie checked her telemetry signal yesterday.
Except for yearlings, the bears are almost entirely nocturnal. Ursula and her cubs spent the wee hours of yesterday morning (2 AM to 6:40 AM) moving 4.4 miles to the general area where she has denned before.
We very much hope the DNR grants our request to radio-collar orphans Cole and Ember and put Den Cam(s) in their den(s). Hundreds of females are killed each hunting season, and survival rates of their orphaned cubs are estimated from small sample sizes. Relatively few have been radio-collared and monitored to determine how well they survive. Cubs normally stay with their mothers for 16-17 months and then depend on their mothers to defend territories in which young females usually establish territories. The mothers expand their territories away, making room for their daughters as June has been doing ever since she gave birth to her first daughter, Lily, in 2007. Since then, Jewel and Aster have entered the mix along with June’s granddaughters Faith and Fern. We would have loved to continue studying the development of this clan along with the shifts in land tenure as new females develop territories. June was the kingpin (queenpin?) of this study.
In June’s absence, it would be fitting to study the survival of her cubs and how Ember integrates (if she can) into the clan and establishes a territory without the usual help from her mother. Will she be able to reproduce as successfully as females whose mothers aid establishment of territories that appear to be so important to reproductive success?
Old brown white pine needles
ready to fallTo date, the sample size of females that have been monitored to learn how their survival and reproductive success compares with other bears is small. Much more information is needed on the long-term fates of orphans. With bear numbers down in Minnesota, Cole and Ember (especially Ember), can aid in improving computer models for predicting population growth, leading to better population management. The DNR could watch the Den Cams and learn along with the rest of us—directly from the bears. It would be an opportunity for the DNR and us to work together as we have long tried to do.
On another topic, personnel changes are happening and many thanks are due to people who have done a great job and people who are stepping up. After two years at the helm, our current volunteer coordinator Myra Fournier is stepping down to concentrate on family matters. We're sorry to see Myra leave, but she has promised to stay connected to staff and volunteers via pond chat and by working on other special projects as her time permits. Many thanks to Myra for handing over a talented and dedicated group of volunteers.
Stepping up is Terry Hagenah who has accepted the reins as our Volunteer Coordinator beginning October 1. Terry is a retired management executive and has been our Volunteer Appreciation Coordinator, working side by side with Myra since the program began. We are grateful to have Terry who has already gone above and beyond in many other volunteer tasks at NABC and WRI.
Welcome to Ely, Karen Wickham! Karen traveled all the way from Australia to volunteer for an extended stay as NABC Advertising Coordinator under Nadine Long and as Bear Educator with Judy Thon. She brings with her over 20 years experience as a professional graphic designer. She has successfully owned and managed a graphic/website design business and has experience in fundraising and event planning. Karen has had a lifelong interest in bears beginning when she started watching "Grizzly Adams.” Karen has lived all across North America. This is Karen's tenth trip to the USA.
JeanMarie (JM) Barnish recently retired from an impressive thirty-five-year career in finance to volunteer for the NABC. We are amazed and honored! She will be lending her skills as Development Coordinator for the NABC, working with Nadine Long to develop a planned giving program. JM is also a member of the NABC Speakers Bureau. To learn more, she and her husband Steve attended a Black Bear Field Study Course in May. Welcome JM. We’ll be seeing you occasionally in Ely over the coming year.
Thank you so much to these people and many others who are helping in so many ways to spread the word about bears. Each has his or her own talent and passion. Together, they make the Bear Center ever more capable as the Hope Learning Center comes together for broader and better education outreach.
Thank you for all that so many of you are doing and for the support we feel from you every day.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.