Jack is backShortly after the last 2 bear course participants arrived, one of them spotted a bear approaching the field station. Excitement ensued. Mike Johnson, looking through binoculars said, “it’s Jack!” Soon, we could all see the white eye that easily identifies One-eyed Jack. He knows the property well, there were scents of other bears. Safety takes precedence over food, so he checked around, sniffed trees, looked, and listened cautiously. He sniffed a big red pine—the same one he had rubbed shortly before his big mating battle with Lumpy back in 2006. Sue videoed that fight and it plays in the mating activity section of the North American Bear Center.
Jack back-rubbing red pineBut this evening, all seemed safe. He settled down and appeared relaxed, although his heart rate seemed a little high at 95/minute. Jack was the same old trustworthy bear we’ve known for at least 11 years (since 2003) with some in the neighborhood knowing him longer. Back then he was already an adult. Now, battered from many mating battles he is still calm and trusting among people where he has seen them year after year at community feeding stations. We’ve never heard a complaint about this distinctively scarred bear with one eye. Before leaving, he stopped and back-rubbed the red pine he had sniffed earlier. We went in and ate supper.
UrsulaAs we finished eating, a neighbor called. 9-year-old Ursula was at her house. She said 2 yearlings had scampered up trees when Ursula appeared. Ursula can be a terror, of course, but with us she has always been as nice as a wild bear can be. As she ate, she frequently swung her head to look this way and listen that way but was totally trusting with us. She has never generated a complaint or approached anyone for food away from the feeding stations as far as we know. The DNR claim that these bears learn to approach people for food was not backed up by a single witness. We photographed Ursula until the light got too low.
Burt approachingBack to WRI where our 13-year-old course participant spotted a bear—Burt, Ursula’s 9-year-old littermate from 2005. Burt is not as relaxed with people as Ursula is but still is one of the more trusting bears. Cameras clicked and video recorded the moment.
BurtThen, in the distance, we saw Jack approaching. Lynn made sure Burt saw Jack. We thought he’d want to avoid Jack. Burt stiffened with his head on alert and his ears perked forward. Jack saw him. They seemed to recognize each other and not in a relaxing way. Burt walked stiff-legged toward Jack placing each food hard with a twist. Jack turned and walked away straddling vegetation to scent-mark. Burt kept moving toward him but not chasing. Mating season is over and the time for mating battles should be over.
After dark, another male arrived with a scarred up face, but he was too skittish for identification. The night had begun.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center