Holly watches for LuckyHolly continues to explore. Today she was up and down a cedar, stripping bark and using it as an outlook post to watch for Lucky and Honey. While she was on the ground, she saw Ted across the pond. Ted lay down to eat, and Holly did, too. During the hard rain, she retreated to her deadfall refuge spot. The staff is aiming to get a good picture of that tangle so we all can better visualize it.
Juliet at cub treeSue homed in on Juliet’s frequency to change her GPS unit. She heard Juliet grunting and then caught sight of the family as they moved to a white pine. The cubs hesitated at the bottom but climbed as soon as they saw Sue. The swap went well and Juliet is back on the map.
As bear and human populations grow, overlap increases. Bear survival depends upon human attitudes. 
JulietWe and Lily Fans are trying to spread accurate information instead of the fear-mongering sensationalism that is rampant on TV lately about bears and wolves. The Minnesota DNR is also guilty of the same in their efforts to build a case against our research. Our goal is to provide factual information to as large an audience as possible. We commend the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and police officials in taking a non-sensationalistic approach to a recent bear sighting. The story is that a young bear, almost certainly a male, made it to northern Illinois, probably from central Wisconsin, and has people wondering about the danger. We are helping behind the scenes.
Holly strips barkOn a sad note, a male cub was struck and killed on Highway 169 overnight. The location could be in Samantha’s territory. We are anxious to see her and her family to see if she still has her three cubs.
Due to a cancellation, there are now 2 spots open in the first Black Bear Field Study course, which starts just 2 weeks from today. Currently, there is also one spot open in the July 27-30 course and one in the Aug 24-27 course. To learn more and register for a course, go to http://www.bearstudy.org/website/field-study-courses.html. The course offers a unique opportunity to closely observe wild black bears—including mothers with cubs and mature males.
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.