Holly and Lynn at dawnAt dawn (-21F), Honey was breathing a steady 4 breaths per minute snuggled deep in the straw of her window den.
Holly, however, had slept under the stars last night and was a little upset to be disturbed this morning. Then she calmed down and we could see she was fine. We know she looked in both the bunker den and her box before choosing a corner of the pen for the night.
This afternoon, she took a nap in her box and woke up blustery. She was slow to get going like she had to take time to pump blood into her legs. We believe she would be best off in the bunker den where she can bury herself in straw if she wants, and we could easily monitor her with a Den Cam. If we were to put a Den Cam in her box, we’d have to saw a hole in the box, which would disturb her big time.
Holly follows Lynn into denLynn wondered if she would feel more comfortable going into the bunker den if a human accompanied her. With grapes and hazelnuts as enticement, Lynn wondered if she would come. She was hesitant at first, but when Lynn got down on his hands and knees and then got even lower as he crawled backwards into the bunker den, she felt better about being close. She crawled in beside him. Lucky peeked over through a hole. Holly watched him without any sign of apprehension. Holly seemed comfortable with Lynn lying beside her in the den. When Lynn moved his feet, she ignored it. She wasn’t tense and defensive. She was focused on finding grapes and hazelnuts in the mounds of straw.
Lynn offers Holly grapesLynn wanted to leave her to become familiar with the bunker, but Holly’s hindquarters blocked the exit. Lynn waited for her to move. She didn’t. Lynn wondered if she were comfortable enough to let him put a hand on her hip and give gentle pressure to encourage her to step aside. Holly’s reaction showed that progress is being made. Instead of whirling defensively and slapping, she gave a look that said don’t do that. Lynn obeyed. Holly went back to the grapes. Her only vocalization was a short whine that said don’t bother me when I’m eating. She didn’t show fear, and she wasn’t threatening like she initially was yesterday. A minute later, she took a step forward on her own. Holly just kept searching in the straw for grapes and hazelnuts as Lynn crawled past her. Lynn and Judy put the door on the box. The goal is for Holly to make a deep bed in the bunker den like Honey has in her window den.
Holly came out and checked the box. Finding the door closed, she was unsure what to do for a few minutes. Then she went into the bunker den and stayed there. A good day for all.
We hope sleeping just on the other side of the wall from Lucky will be a step toward them getting used to each others’ smell and becoming friends. We wonder if they will touch noses through the 4-inch hole.
At this point, little Holly doesn’t realize how much is ahead of her as she meets Lucky, Ted, and Honey. We want to do everything we can to pave the way for her. Spending the winter in the bunker den next door to Lucky is one step in that. The next step will be moving her Live Cam to show her in the bunker den if she stays there. We’ll see what a southern bear with northern genes will do with minimum disturbance for the remainder of the winter.
Thank you for the many donations to get Holly here.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center