Lily Jewel made the rounds of her territory in the past 48 hours (traveling over 9.7 miles) but has now settled into a small area where she has denned twice before. A big energetic move doesn’t seem like something that would precede settling down to hibernate. Maybe she is just resting after a big move. Time will tell.
Lily became active at 1:01 AM two nights ago and led Eli and Ellie past the den where they were born (couldn’t tell if they stopped to check it out) and continued on to a small area where they spent the day. Sue joined Lily briefly today to adjust her collar and get her back ‘on the map.’ Lily seems content at the moment to confine her movements to a small area.
Fallen leavesWe will be relieved when these bears and others settle safely into dens. It feels empty enough without June and Dot and it’s heart-wrenching to see Aster walking on three legs. 30% of the radio-collared bears were shot so far this year (six times the previous rate of 8 in 13 years). Ten days to go to until the bear hunt ends on October 13.
Fall at Fivemile LakeWhen we see Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials working in so many ways to shut down the research and education—that so many volunteers are working so hard to keep going—it makes us determined to fight harder to accomplish our goals.
Speaking of volunteers, without volunteers, there would be no LTBB Facebook page, no Pond Chat, no Speakers Bureau, and little else. Thank you all for making this what it is and what it will become.
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.