Juliet covered with snow A big blowing snowstorm today changed the look of Juliet as she hunkered down over her cubs. Snow coated her fur. The temperature got up to 19°F (-7°C), which is just above the temperature at which snow was predicted to melt on a bear (17°F, -8°C). See Radiant surface temperatures and hair depths of a black bear Ursus americanus for more.
Holly's denWhen we visited Juliet this fall, we remarked about how thick her coat was, so now it is nice to see that her extra thick coat is retaining body heat extra well this cold winter. It will be interesting to see how warm ambient temperatures must be for snow to melt on her fur this year.
Lucky's denHolly, Lucky, and Ted are hard to see just now. Of course, Holly is buried in her straw as usual. Lucky not only has his pile of snow in front of his door, but now has more above his door. Ted has a good pile in front of his den, too.
Ted's denWe wondered just how deep the snow was on the level (not drifted) today, and the staff determined it varied from 27 to 32 inches. Honey must have wondered, too, because she lifted her head when the measurers came near her den. She looks good.
Honey in window denThank 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.