Winter in the Northwoods Finally, word on the bears we have all spent so much time with. Jim Stroner and Lorie Kennedy spent the day trudging to the three dens in snow that was mid-thigh depth even for 6 foot 2 inch tall Jim Stroner—and that’s wearing snowshoes. Every step is a struggle under those conditions. The winter has been too cold for the snow to form a crust, so snowshoes are at best a marginal help.
Aster's denFirst stop was Aster. We wondered if she could produce cubs while her body was healing a bullet wound to her left tricep? She was so deep around a corner in her burrow den that they couldn’t see her. They sat and listened, protected by layers. In 20 minutes, they heard nothing. Not fully conclusive, but she likely does not have cubs.
Lily's denOn to Lily and her cubs (now yearlings) Eli and Ellie in the deep rock den where we all watched Lily and Faith two years ago. Remember how easy it was to see them bedded in plain view on their rocky floor? Not this time. Not a glimpse. We remember Faith being out of sight sometimes under a rocky overhang. That’s probably where Lily and cubs made their nest this cold winter. Their telemetry signal was definitely coming from down in the den.
Lorie's snow showerThey replaced the SD card in the Trail Cam that has been watching over their den these last three months (since November 5). We wondered if the camera caught the bears emerging. Between November 24 and 27, they emerged several times to rake in more bedding as snow accumulated to an inch. Lily did most of the work, but the cubs helped rake, too. Now, mounds of snow surround the den with not a bear track to be seen.
Wolf at Lily's denThe other big question was if animals came to visit the den with bears in it like they did last year when the den was empty. They did, but we haven’t yet compared number of visits to last year. Visitors included 2-3 wolves, a fisher, and a snowshoe hare. One of the wolves has a skinny tail, another a bushy one. We’re not sure if we are seeing 2 or 3 wolves. One has a nearly hairless tail, one seems to have a full tail, and then there is a picture of a wolf with some hair on its tail. As a side note, remember how we weren’t sure last year if the canids were wolves or coyotes? We now believe they were all wolves, as were the ones in today’s videos. We’ll get a video or two up when we can. The big push now is for the hearing.
Jewel's hidden denJewel’s den was so buried under snow and deadfalls that it took them over a half hour to find the den once they arrived in the vicinity. Things looked much different than in the fall before the snow fell. Eventually they found the nearly snow-covered entrance but couldn’t see Jewel tucked deep inside. They listened. Eventually a cub began to nurse. Was it one motor or two? Then one squawked while the other continued nursing. At least two cubs for Jewel.
Jewel's denAfter returning to WRI for lunch Jim and Lorie checked on Ursula and her cubs. We wondered how they were faring in their huge open den. As the pictures show, the entrance of the den is still quite open in spite of the mounds of snow.
Ursula in her large denExcitement is rising for the New England Bearhead Spring Luncheon (and raffle) in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, on April 6th. Judy Thon and Terry Hagenah will be special guests. All Lily Fans are welcome. Click here to view the flyer for the event.
On another note, the Pond Chat Moderator team is looking for new members for the spring when Ted, Honey, Lucky and new Holly all emerge and make new acquaintances? Coverage is particularly needed to welcome and educate from 9-11AM, 4-5PM, and 7-8PM CST on a variety of weekdays and weekends. Interested folk should e-mail
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.