Wisconsin yearling maleSince 11 AM, Lily has been moving about in a small area only a quarter mile from a rough road. The movements are similar to what we’ve seen when bears are mating. Lynn wanted to document the evolving relationship of Lily and Harry for a paper we are doing on courtship and mating.
But the trusty Van is disabled, so Lynn drove the 1995 Chevy Tahoe, known as Big Blue. It has run well despite its 213,000 miles, but Big Blue met her match today. As the road narrowed, shrubbery collapsed the mirrors. Broken rocks thumped the underside. The road became impassable. Unable to turn around, he knew backing up would be difficult with the mirrors collapsed. While looking left, he heard a tree tear off the right mirror. Tires spun in the mud, rocks, and slippery grass of the “road.” Stuck, Lynn got out and to see the problem. The right front tire was flat. He couldn’t get the spare out from under the back on the two-tracker road with a high center. Eventually, he rocked free, only to find that the left rear tire had gone flat, too. Backing up with the flopping flat tires, he tried to weave between obstructions. Eventually, he found a place to turn around. By the time he drove two miles to the WRI, the flat tires were shredded. The misadventure ended with AAA sending a tow truck and trailer to carry the Tahoe into Ely for repairs.
Wisconsin yearling maleLily Fans wondered who the staff and Lily Fan volunteers were who secured approval to add the Bear Center to the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) for federal employees. We generally avoid mentioning individuals for a couple reasons, but here’s the story of teamwork in action. Executive Director Nadine Long had the idea and forwarded the CFC link to Lily Fan volunteer JM Barnish. JM saw the kinds of information needed and reached out to Bear Center staff and other Lily Fan volunteers for help. At the Bear Center, she turned to Judy Thon (Director of Operations), Peggy Meisch (Bookkeeper), Heidi Shiltz (Office Manager), Sharon Herrell (Program Director), and Kaija Giroux (Auditor). Nadine advised JM to also reach out to Lily’s Facebook Mods, the Pond Chat Mods, the Speaker’s Bureau, the Education Outreach group, Bear Educators, and everyone who had information on the human services the Bear Center provides. Everyone JM asked stepped up.
It took nearly 2 months to create proper files and spreadsheets for completing the application. JM then sent the application to Nadine, got her blessing, and sent it in. JM said that the Bear Center was likely accepted because so many Lily Fans and staff members provide interactive services to the public face to face and through the Internet around the globe. The take-home message? Lily Fans rock, along with the staff, and everyone involved can be proud. The take-home message also is that if we keep up the good work, we will likely be approved again next year when another application is due. On behalf of all Lily Fans, we say “Way to go, team!”
Wisconsin yearling maleAnother big effort didn’t go as well. Earlier this spring, we learned that a yearling male black bear was about to be euthanized in Wisconsin unless a captive facility was willing to take him. We were told he had such a sweet disposition that when Wisconsin wildlife officials confiscated him from a home, an official simply scooped him up in his arms and carried him out to his vehicle. Lily Fans visited him and reported that he was a sweetheart. We offered him a permanent home at the North American Bear Center. We had heard how much Holly liked to play with other bears and thought a bear her age would be ideal. We saw her energy as she paced in her pen these past weeks as she was/is confined from the other bears because of her parasites. We saw pictures of the little male with a big white bow tie on his chest and named Bo. A Lily Fan volunteered to transport him to the Bear Center. We ordered material for a new pen like Honey’s. Bear Educators helped put it up.
But there’s one thing we hadn’t counted on—that the Minnesota DNR would try to hurt the Bear Center by prohibiting us from acquiring Bo. We asked Minnesota DNR officials why they were refusing to let us take Bo when they had approved Holly under identical circumstances. Getting no concrete answer and with time running out before Bo would be euthanized, we turned to the Minnesota Attorney General’s office for help. They stepped in.
Wisconsin yearling maleShortly, MN DNR General Counsel Sherry Enzler sent us a letter saying “…Minnesota has no objection to the transfer of a Wisconsin bear to the NABC.” All we needed was a letter from the Wisconsin DNR similar to the one Arkansas sent with little Holly. Everything had been positive from the Wisconsin DNR and the Wisconsin Rehab facility that was temporarily holding Bo. Working under a deadline, we approved ads that included Bo for Minnesota Explorer Magazine and Ely Summer Times.
Suddenly, Wisconsin DNR officials went silent. They failed to return our calls and emails. We knew the Minnesota DNR had been forced by the Attorney General’s office to let us have Bo. We worried whether they had found another way to stop us.
All we know for sure is that Wisconsin officials suddenly changed their stance and refused to release Bo to us. Instead, they offered him to a Wisconsin man who had previously refused Bo. Wisconsin officials told the man they would consider a rehab license for him if he would take Bo off their hands. The man picked up Bo today. So if Lily Fans see the ads featuring two young bears and wonder why there is only one, we apologize for what has turned out to be false advertising.
Meanwhile, at the Bear Center, Lucky and Honey put on a show. Lucky somehow wanted to be near Honey who is probably in estrus. Honey would have none of it and ended up treeing Lucky twice—once in an aspen and the other time in the Pat Tree, the cedar we planted in front of the viewing balcony. Honey made her point, and the audience learned a bit about how bears work out their differences without violence.
A story on the Northland News Channel 6 KBJR online about the legal proceedings is at http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/local/Dr-Lynn-Rogers-response-to-the-judges-final-ruling-in-the-Bear-Case-260957091.html.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center