Samantha Holly had quite a day, and she had a visit from Ted. This morning we had Holly’s sliding door partway up so she could go out but no other bear could get in without lifting the gate higher. It was Ted’s turn to be out, so Lucky was in his pen next door to Holly. All was peaceful. Ted stopped by, saw the door partly raised, casually lifted it, and went in. Holly showed great consternation—blowing and climbing the fence to the top of the pen. Ted paid little attention. He sniffed about her pen, which used to be his, and left without eating a bite of Holly’s food. We hope Holly realizes Ted is no threat.
Quick as a squirrelMaybe she did. After his visit, she was in a much better mood than yesterday. She engaged in wild play with Heidi, playing tug of war and running jubilantly about in her pen. At one point, she ran out into the big enclosure and disappeared for 3-4 minutes before running back in just as fast. Heidi tried to lure her out again, hoping she would get over her fear and continue exploring, but 20 feet was as far as she would go.
Samantha's cub on white pineHeidi then closed Holly in her pen, let Ted back into his pen, and let Lucky out. Lucky cruised the big enclosure, stopping by Holly’s pen several times. Holly seemed to feel secure in her pen and didn’t say anything to Lucky, or vice versa. We’ll see what happens tomorrow when Sharon tries to get Holly to come out and explore her new world.
Samantha's cub on branchAt WRI, Samantha stopped by a little before 7 AM with her 3 very cute little cubs. All got on the scale. Samantha weighed 191.5, and the cubs weighed 13, 13, and 10 pounds. Lynn tried to see which sex they were for the record but they didn’t stay still long enough. 
Samantha's cubThey scampered about, still small enough to be at the cute hopping stage when they tried to hurry. They could hop up a tree like a squirrel. They still have blue eyes. To learn their sexes, we hope the many eyes in the Black Bear Field Courses in July and August will give an answer by the end of summer.
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.