Lynn Rogers and Maureen O'BrienJuliet wasn’t moving much this day last year as temperatures rose from 32 below to 11 above.
Juliet undoubtedly felt the cold or heard what the cubs were saying whenever a draft reached them, so she stayed hunkered down over them. It’s the coldest weather the cubs had faced since they were born on January 23, 2014.
There wasn’t enough activity to make a highlight video, but one thing was interesting in the 12-minute archive that begins at 9:18 PM when temperatures had risen above zero. http://vimeopro.com/bearstudy/20140202/video/85715904. Near the end of that video, Juliet changes position and reveals a ring of frost that coated 6-8" of her fur above the bed line. She had been resting with her head tucked deep under her chest, exhaling on the cubs about 3 times per minute. Some breath escaped up the sides of the cup-shaped bed. Where her fur was against the inside of the bed, her breath remained too warm to become frost. 
Lynn painted in the muralWhen her breath hit the cold air, it turned to frost on her fur. It is interesting that the bed provided enough insulation to keep the breath warm until it hit the cold air beyond the bed. The fact that the frost remained on her exposed fur shows how well insulated she is by the layer of underfur that grows in during late summer and fall.
She breathed by taking in a breath and then holding it for 10-15 seconds before exhaling and inhaling. Is this slow breathing an adaptation for minimizing heat loss?
The link to all of the archives, including February 2 is http://www.bearstudy.org/website/research/2014-juliet-archives.html.
In the Northwoods Ecology Hall, Maureen finished her mural last night, and it is beautiful. The staff is in awe of her talent—the beauty, the reality, and the illusion of depth. The photo shows me telling her how wonderfully it turned out.
Lynn up closeMaureen never mentioned that she hid a surprise in the mural. Today, as I admired details she included, a patch of red jumped out. It was me 4 inches tall walking in the distant background. Again, she paid attention to detail. She had me wearing my red fall jacket and red hat drawn in the late fall section of the mural. She was correct on details such as not wearing gloves and wearing my usual tennis shoes in the shallow snow. However, my picture will not be visible to the public. Saplings will be placed in front of it. When I called her about it today, she wasn’t sure I’d be happy or mad. I felt honored that she wanted to have me be a part of her mural but discreetly hidden behind saplings. This follows a pattern Maureen started with her mural in front of the Cub Room. In that one, she drew a similarly small picture of Donna paddling a canoe.
We have a wonderful team working on all aspects of the Northwoods Ecology Hall. This tour by Judy Thon reveals some of the talent of the people involved https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSwvChAGtE4.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center