Lily alert for yearlingsAt 5 AM today, a resident spotted Lily alone. A couple hours later, thinking family breakup had taken place, we wanted to see if Lily was with a male. Her telemetry signal was the loud-soft rhythm of a bear on the move. Eventually, the signal smoothed out. She had lain down. Lynn homed in on the spot. Eventually he could see Lily through the brush, which thankfully was not yet leafing out yet in the dense, shade there. Lynn had repeated the familiar words as he homed in on her. Lily knew it was safe, and didn’t even get up. Lynn sat on the moss 30-40 feet away to see if a scared male might return.
A bear joins LilyAfter 15-20 minutes, a bear moving through the brush didn’t look big enough to be a mate. It was Ellie. She joined Lily.
Eli arrives concernedWe have not gotten to know Eli and Ellie well. When they were in the den in spring 2013, we stayed away to better learn what undisturbed bears do. When they left and we tried to join them, the cubs stayed away—usually remaining high in trees. Later when we tried to walk with the family, the skittish cubs usually disappeared and Lily followed them, preventing us from getting natural data. As a result, we had to rely on GPS locations to learn what we could about their lives.
EllieSo Lynn was surprised when Ellie curiously approached. She backed off whenever Lynn tried to touch her but wasn’t as scared as Lynn thought she’d be. This may have been the best opportunity for close interaction. After family break-up (coming soon), yearlings typically lose their confidence and spend hours avoiding perceived danger by staying up trees.
Lily and Ellie alert for EliA couple hours later, Lynn found that even though she’s in New England, he couldn’t escape the ‘long arm of Sue.’ She called and said Lily’s GPS batteries were broadcasting “Low Battery” and it was up to him to change the batteries. By then, the family was a mile away and on the move. Lynn was in for more vigorous exercise than he got all winter as he hurried a mile to get ahead of the bears and intercept them.
Lily straddling spruceWhen Lynn appeared, Eli and Ellie both disappeared. Lily casually approached, stopping frequently to sniff tree trunks for scents of other bears. At 11:32 AM, she straddle-marked a young spruce as she came out into the sunny opening where Lynn was waiting. With Lynn, she calmly laid down to eat the handful of nuts on the ground while her batteries were changed. But she was keenly alert to any sound, especially in the direction of her yearlings. 11 minutes later, Ellie appeared but played peekaboo through the trees until she was sure it was safe. 
Lily and Ellie nose-to-noseShe fed nose to nose with Lily as they cleaned up the nut reward for the battery change. Both bears went on high alert with any sound of Eli. Was it really him? Lily listened, sniffed the air with her mouth partly open to use her vomeronasal organ. At 12:04 PM, skittish Eli cautiously joined Lily and Ellie. Five minutes later, they all moved on.
Lily listeningIn the afternoon, Lynn visited the Bear Center and, as usual, was impressed with the dedication the staff and volunteers show for the welfare of the bears. They let Lynn give Holly her bottle so he could assess her progress. Patience and gentleness are having an effect. Holly accepts stroking. Progress.
It was a magical day.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center