Holly and her duck - April 13Today, Holly delighted those watching her den cam. Fortunately for those (like us) who weren’t watching, her antics were captured and posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzKvVb0WSdo and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZaScWnGR_Y for all to see.
Cub feetIt warmed our hearts to see Holly play with such wild abandon with her big ‘rubber ducky!’ She played with it much like we have seen wild mothers play with their cubs. Will the ducky have tooth-marks, or was she gentle like mothers are with their play-bites? Are the antibiotics and food giving her energy? She went on for about an hour in one of her play sessions with the ducky—pausing when Lucky peeked through the hole. Then she continued playing, ignoring Lucky as she did when she was busy eating romaine a couple days ago. 
Juliet's cubsHolly seems to know the safety of fences. It was all great to see, and congratulations to the Lily Fan who captured the two videos.
Juliet's cubs playThings were not as peaceful in Florida where a woman surprised several bears going through garbage in her garage. One of the bears bit the woman on the head and arm and dragged her from the garage. The fact there were multiple bears in the garage may mean it was a mother bear with yearlings. 
Curious cubThe incident spurred calls to us from ABC News. It sounds like the woman will be okay after she heals (30 staples and 10 stitches). We always think of these things in terms of a bell-shaped curve. Most bears are in the middle, like the bears we have encountered year after year for nearly 5 decades without one coming after us and hurting us. 
Curiouser and curiouserBut the occasional rare bear is out in a tail making national news and coloring people’s view of all bears. About one black bear in a million kills someone.
Juliet and her cubs are still in their den. Our view is severely limited by the current positioning of the cam, but we should at least be able to tell when they leave the den.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center