Holly and LynnWhat a difference a day makes! Yesterday, little Holly was stressed after 2 weeks in a box and several days of travel. She was lunging against the fence toward people and greeted the Old Bearman with a swat. All well taken. By noon, she was touching noses through the fence.
Holly had the afternoon and night to get used to local sounds and scents. She checked out her temporary living quarters and licked the camera lens.
At 7:30 this morning, Lynn went up to clean the lens and found Judy Thon already doing it. Holly was calm. She came to the fence nicely without lunging, blowing, jaw-clacking, or swats. Lynn went inside. Holly was a little hesitant without the fence between them, but she finally came over to sniff Lynn and even rubbed her head on his coat. She showed only mild interest in food. While she was sniffing, Lynn stroked her back and sides. Finally, touching—a beginning.
Holly and LynnThen she turned playful—wild, unfettered play with hard bites. She is too young to know how to control her bites. That will come next summer. She bit Lynn’s arm and shook it like prey—contorting her body to fling her head back and forth in a 2-foot arc. Then she started adding playful cuffs like Ted and Lucky used to do to each other. All play. Wild and rough but leaving no marks. We are learning our challenge with little Holly. Each bear is different. She will outgrow the play like Lucky did, but we have to limit it. For that, we are getting input from the top experts in the world.
The main thing today is that the ice is broken. Holly and we are communicating.
More on Holly’s history. From what we have heard, a man rescued her in March when a fire separated her from her mother. She would have died on her own at that age. March is within the critical socialization period when bears decide who are friends and who are foes. The best course would have been to get her to a rehab facility where she would be raised for release back into the wild. Instead, the man bonded with her.
Holly assists GlennThe man tried his best on his own. He loved the little cub, and she evidently bonded with him. We’re trying to reach him for details and to invite him to the Bear Center. From what we’ve heard he loved her, fed her, slept with her, had her in his house in diapers, took her for rides in his vehicle, for walks in the woods, watched her climb tall trees, watched her come back down to him to continue the walks, watched her discover wild berries, and let her run free much of the time, knowing she would stay close to his home and him, which we heard she did. From what we have heard, they were together nearly 6 months. We would love to meet and talk with this man to learn how they interacted, what Holly’s quirks are, what she likes, and what she is used to. We want to give her the best transition we can.
Holly supervises camera adjustmentsAt some point, if left with the man, the little bear would have reached the age when she needed to be on her own and establish a territory (about a year and a half old in the wild). At some point, the mating urge would take over and Holly would roam the woods to find a mate and leave scent trails so mates could find her. Although wild black bears leave their mothers at a year and a half, and the mothers frequently enforce that split when they meet. Without that wild enforcement, Holly likely would have returned to the man if she could.
However, it’s illegal in Arkansas to take a bear from the wild and raise it without a permit. Requiring a permit gives wildlife officials a chance to make decisions about rehab before it’s too late. Forced by law, wildlife officials took charge of the little bear. They then went far beyond the norm to prepare little Holly for release into the wild. In the end, they decided the best chance for Holly was at the North American Bear Center with its forested enclosure and Ted, Lucky, and Honey to keep a little bear from being bored.
We were told Holly weighs 84 pounds, which is big for a cub her age. We hope Holly will settle into the cement bunker where mounds of straw will give comfort for hibernation. But for now, she is climbing and exploring as part of adjusting to her surroundings. This afternoon she paced like we heard she’d done elsewhere. We suspect the pacing will disappear when she is released into the big enclosure in the spring. For now, we hope she hibernates soon.
Through it all, Lucky, right next door, has not made a peep.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center