Holly in her denIt was time to set Holly’s den cam straight. We all need to view Holly right side up. Too many Lily Fans are reporting cricks in their necks. A little realignment was fine with Holly, too, as is shown in this video from a Lily Fan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5k9SXas9Ko. Holly is watching and sniffing, perhaps wondering if we brought her any food, as has accompanied some of our earlier visits. She never showed anxiety. Scott and the staff packed the tube with strips of bed sheets to avoid the disturbing hollow sound that an empty tube can make. After Scott gave the den cam a 90 degree turn to the left, Holly watched and listened as he taped the tube in place again. The photo of Holly shows her foggy breath. The wind and below zero (F) temperature felt extremely cold. Shortly, Scott left, and Holly tucked her head.
Lynn and Scott adjusting the camWith Holly in a wild-type den with bedding that is mostly leaves, we have an opportunity to see how her activity is affected by weather (temperature, wind chill, etc. ). Will we see her tucking her head under her chest and being less active on the coldest days? Or will we see her rearranging the bedding on those days in an attempt to better fight the cold? For the first time, we are watching a lone bear without the complications of cubs or yearlings.
Lynn and Sue signing calendarsWe do want to make more bedding available to her, though, and we learned today that a bag of red, orange, and yellow leaves are on their way (Fedex) at this moment. Thank you from Holly!
In the warm Bear Center office, Scott had Sue and I signing the first 450 calendars today, with another 900 to sign in the next couple days. Thank you for your orders!
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.