Woods Lake mostly frozenWith cold (19°F) overnight and shallow lakes beginning to freeze up, we checked on the Bear Center bears.
Lucky has not stirred from his chosen den since November 5. That’s the bunker den Holly was in last winter.
Holly has not been seen since we checked on her November 6 at the den she dug herself. We’re proud of her for the effort she put into excavating it and pulling out big pieces of rock like we’ve seen some wild bears do. Maybe it’s her good Minnesota genes at work.
Ted is settling into the den we call Honey’s Haven. But if Ted is claiming it, it sounds bad to call it Honey’s Haven because that would be like saying Ted is stealing. I don’t think Ted feels like he is stealing. To make him feel welcome at the den he chose, whatever we call it, the staff gave him more straw yesterday. They said his muzzle is looking better all the time.
Honey still takes walks around the pond and into the woods and is spending time in Ted’s old chalet den as well as the wooden window den where she has spent the last couple winters. The doors to all of the dens except Ted’s are open –even to Lucky’s den where she crawled in with him late one fall. We’ll see which den Honey picks.
As I was writing this, I heard from a man who is sharing our message in Canada and thought how far we have all come. I remember how together, we learned how bears spend their winters. I hear Lily Fans wondering how experts can still spout their misconceptions about denning behavior when thousands of Lily Fans know the truth like anyone could have learned by tuning in (and many biologists did). I see how Lily Fans continue to share the message we all learned directly from the bears. I see the need for expanded education and know what we all have to do going forward.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.