A wet Sophie or Sybil - 5/25/15The highlight on this rainy Memorial Day was a visit from wet, gentle Sophie or Sybil. The rain did not penetrate her underfur. It was all on the outside guard hairs. She was alone, not obviously in heat, and may have mated in the 10 days since we’ve last seen her. She was her usual calm self except that the wind and rain made her look all directions constantly. Rain and wind makes the woods sound like danger is approaching from all directions. With a bear’s ears all but useless in that situation, they have to depend on their eyes. She weighed 155.
At the Bear Center, Holly didn’t seem to be bothered by the rain as she rested on her favorite branch up her white pine. She shared the tree with Lucky. Could the wind and rain make them wary, too?
Big inside work day today with good progress toward opening the Ecology Hall in a month or so.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center