Fern at 3 years oldLily Fans can’t be fooled. You spotted the bite mark on the herring gull’s spam. Yes, I was sharing, or making the gull share. He or she was back for more today.
The Bearman taking photosFern visited, too. I was surprised to see her alone because at 3, she should be in high demand, unless she has mated already. She is a sweetheart, a bit shy until she knows who she is dealing with. Totally non-aggressive, as is true for all the bears we know, but with a special gentleness.
The day started (at 5:37 AM) snapping pictures of the animals in the habitat exhibit. The pictures will be part of 30 13x19-inch framed posters on the knee-wall visible in the photograph the staff shot. The purpose is to identify the animals in the exhibit so people can know what they are looking at—also to tell how they relate to bears and local northwoods ecology. At each end of the knee wall will be a 60-inch TV showing the animals whose sounds visitors are hearing. A smaller TV will go in the center of the knee-wall.
A highlight today was seeing a medium-sized Dark Fishing Spider (Dolomedes tenebrosus) that posed nicely for a quick shot. Fishing spiders are the largest spiders of the northwoods. They are harmless according to Larry Weber, author of Spiders of the North Woods (2003).
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| Herring gull | Fishing spider | Woods lake |
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.