Ted soaking up the sunToday marks a change in the hours of operation for the North American Bear Center. We will start our fall hours tomorrow, open on Friday/Saturdays only 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM until November 30. We will always open for groups of 15 or more with a reservation.
Folks often wonder what there is to see at the NABC when the bears are hibernating. For those of you who have been here, watching Ted, Honey, Lucky and Holly is always a highlight. But inside the exhibit hall we have over 60 videos, the theater, photographic gallery and our extensive exhibits. It is a great destination on a cold or snowy day.
Until the bears hibernate they need daily care seven days a week. In yesterday's update you will remember that Ted moved half the straw out of his chalet den and Honey did not. Look at the pictures of both dens 24 hours later and you decide what the bears think about the timing of the straw. The temperature was 55 degrees and sunny this afternoon. At about 1:45 PM Honey decided it was time for a dip in the pond which is still very clear after the great cleaning it received on Oct 4th.
Ted's Chalet DenOther activities change at the NABC this time of year as well. The need for Bear Educators becomes less since much of that work slows down just like the bears do. But with schools in session and our social media sites we have a year round need for OFF-site volunteers.
Let's talk about these off-site volunteers. We are often asked what one can do to help the NABC knowing they may never get to Ely.
You don't have to live in Ely to volunteer for the NABC, in fact most of our volunteers don't!
Honey's window denOur energetic and talented pool of volunteers reside all across the U.S. and beyond - including Canada, England, Ireland, The Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Germany, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
What do they do?
They may serve on our Speakers Bureau, educating children and adults on the facts about black bears. They may be researching information for the taxidermy specimens that will be mounted in the Northwoods Ecology Exhibit Hall. Last winter we had "Holly Watchers" monitoring Holly at night via den cam, recording her movements when she was first settling in at the NABC. We have moderators working round the clock on our Lily the Black Bear Facebook page as well as on our chat page on bear.org. Pond Chat is on the same page as our Pond Cams where you can watch the ambassador bears on 4 cameras. Volunteers on the Facebook Bear Facts and Fun Team promote knowledge about black bears through fun online activities. Similarly, those on the LilyFUNdraiser Team organize much-loved on-line FUNdraisers.
Holly has been busyNot a team person? We can use your individual participation. One dedicated volunteer translates Dr. Rogers's nightly updates into German and posts them in other appropriate European forms. Another supporter quietly educates folks in Poland about black bears one person at a time. Another designed our Volunteer Handbook. Someone else keeps the Bear Educator manual up to date. Still another works behind the scenes to assist our Webmaster in updating our Volunteer Web page.
This sampling gives you a flavor of what a person can do from anywhere in the world. There are many more teams and volunteers that have not been mentioned, but this will give you an idea of the variety of options available.
Busy busy HollyVisit our volunteer Web page http://www.bear.org/website/volunteer.html to view some of our open volunteer positions and submit and application. If there are no positions listed of interest to you right now, submit an application anyway. We constantly review our database to find just the right people for upcoming projects and teams. If you want to ask a few questions first, contact our Volunteer Coordinators Terry and Myra at
Yesterday's Halloween event was fun for me (the pirate) I watched every child that came to the event and how they absorbed the surroundings. Why? It's about how people of all ages learn, not just about bears but about anything new and different. That brings me to what the NABC team will be working on the next few weeks. We will be integrating the Ecology Research Project teams information into touch screens that will be utilized in the Northwoods Ecology Hall.
Little Holly BearThe Northwoods Ecology Hall will have a variety of delivery methods to educate our visitors about all the other wildlife here in the Ely area. We will have a replica of natural habitat including trees, bushes and grasses, taxidermy of many animals in the area, the written word, videos, pictures of the Ely area, sounds, and touch screens that are interactive, and hands on experiences.
Now back to bears. Late this afternoon we were able to verify something. Holly has been busy when she has not been bothering Lucky. Here are three pictures all with Holly bear in them. Can you guess where this is located? Tune in tomorrow for the rest of this story.
Thank you for your support.
Judy Thon, Director of Education, North American Bear Center
All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.