Holly ventures out - April 5 From the time Holly opened her eyes and began her socialization period as a cub less than 2 months old until she was nearly 8 months old, she was almost always with one person. He fed her, walked with her, and slept with her. She lost all fear of him. He was her protector and nearly constant companion. She followed him on long walks in the forest.
Did her lack of fear of that person extend to all people? Lily Fans will be able to judge for themselves as we follow Holly’s progress together.
Holly walks on crusted snow
April 5Backtrack to the day Holly arrived at the Bear Center in late December. She cautiously came out of her travel box and eventually approached Lynn, who had lain down to give Holly confidence to come close. Eventually, she approached. She was cautious but non-threatening. When she got close, she tightened up (apparently feeling conflicting drives) and swatted him. Some time later, with Lynn standing, Holly took food from his hand and reacted playfully, mouthing his hand. She initiated wild play, swinging her head back and forth holding Lynn’s hand in her teeth.
Holly stands on her box - April 6At some point that day, Holly looked into her new cement bunker den but appeared reluctant to enter. She probably smelled Lucky through the 4-inch hole in the wall between their two dens. Lynn wondered if she would be more confident about the den if a human showed the way. Lynn crawled in, carrying grapes. Holly confidently followed and began eating grapes Lynn spread on the den floor as he lay beside her. Lynn gently put a hand on her hindquarters to see her reaction. She turned and looked in a way that said she wasn’t ready for that. Lynn withdrew his hand, and Holly calmly resumed eating as Lynn squirmed out the entrance, pulling his legs past Holly within inches of her nose.
Lynn and HollyFast forward to today. Holly has been out of her den a lot the last few days. Today, her hunger returned enough to eat two heads of romaine lettuce. Lynn wondered if he could begin working with her using grapes to promote trust as a step toward removing her ear-tags without using tranquilizers.
He found Holly sitting on top of her travel box up out of the snow. After a few minutes, she climbed down and came to the fence. Lynn got down on his knees and offered a grape. She ignored it, preferring to sniff Lynn through the fence. An important part of bonding in bears involves touching noses, lips, and tongues as we saw over and over in the video of Ted and Lucky becoming friends. Holly showed only brief tension as she and Lynn did that—returning time and again for more.
Lynn leaves Hollys denLynn stood up and entered the pen. Without the fence between them, Holly nervously drew back. Lynn walked away from her to the den and crawled in, hoping to repeat the calm experience he and Holly had had in the den in late December. Holly didn’t follow.
After several minutes, Holly came to the entrance and looked in. Lynn spoke to her and tossed a grape. She ignored it. She looked in at Lynn but wouldn’t come fully in. Lynn moved closer to the entrance to offer her a grape by hand. Not what she wanted. She became agitated and blustery, ignoring grapes and focusing on the human in her den. This man was not the one who raised her. She ignored grapes offered by hand and became defensive toward the intruder.
Juliet's cub exploresLynn saw that things were not going well and wanted to leave. Any move by Lynn toward the entrance was met with defensive, blustery behavior. She slapped away the little plastic bucket of grapes that Lynn was using as defense. Lynn hoped she would walk away enough so he could squirm out. She didn’t. Lynn called Sue on his cell phone and asked her to come distract the bear so he could get out. He had promised to call a reporter back for an interview about a popular Eagle Cam in Pennsylvania before the reporter’s deadline. While waiting for Sue and Bec to arrive, Lynn had to call the reporter. He did the interview as Holly stood guard at the entrance, occasionally slapping the bucket. Lynn hoped the reporter wouldn’t ask what the loud noise was. Lynn never mentioned the situation.
Cubs up close and personalAbout 10 minutes before Sue and Bec arrived, it appeared Holly wanted to come into the den. Lynn got as far out of her way as he could, leaving the entrance wide open so she could come in and he could go out. Holly scooted past him into the den. Lynn crawled out none the worse for wear, continuing the interview. When Sue and Bec arrived, Lynn was walking toward the gate, answering questions about Den Cams and Eagles Cams. The picture of Lynn exiting shows Holly standing up in the back of the den putting as much space between her and Lynn as possible.
Holly had clearly demonstrated that on this day her trust and bond with the man who raised her did not extend to Lynn. She was not happy to share the den that had become hers over the winter.
In time, Holly and the people who care for her will become comfortable with each other. As in any relationship, all will learn the others’ quirks and personalities and behave accordingly.
Word came this evening that the only two items left unclaimed on the taxidermy list were the woodland caribou and the northern pike. Many thanks for this great start toward opening! Today, we met with taxidermists who may mount birds for the Ecology Hall. People have been collecting birds that have collided with windows and vehicles and giving them to us. More on that when the taxidermists get back to us with prices.
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.