Honey bearWith Holly watching, Lucky found a new toy and had a wild romp with it! Somehow, he got hold of the hose that is usually out of reach. He stretched it, bit it, and wrapped himself in it. In the process, he chased Holly a few times with her immediately returning to him after each chase. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r17fCdw5kbI
Daisy - June 19, 2015A misidentification. Last night, the bear I thought was Bow was her 4-year-old daughter Daisy (134 pounds) who has a similar white bow on her chest. It was also Daisy (not Bow) we saw on the 14th (141 pounds). We don’t know if Daisy has cubs or not. We expected her to have them now at 4 years of age, but we haven’t seen a lot of her, so she may not have gotten enough supplemental food to breed yet. Her weight of 134 pounds at this time of year is light for a mother bear, which is why (thinking it was Bow) I was concerned about the survival of cubs. Not to worry, Bow was 171 on June 8 and should be fine. We’ll know to make sure about Daisy’s reproductive status next visit. I could have missed swollen nipples on a bear that young. If she does not have cubs, this sweet bear would be a great bear to have on a Den Cam this winter when she is almost certainly going to have cubs. Although she was nervous about everything else yesterday, which may be a sign she has cubs, she was calm about me. All her nervous attention was directed elsewhere. It would be easy to put a Den Cam in her den.
I should have recognized her. She has always been a special bear to me. I saw the bow and too quickly assumed it was Bow. Her face didn’t quite look right for Bow, but I assumed that was because I hadn’t seen either of them lately. We’ll get it right.
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| Lucky plays with water hose while Holly watches on - 6/19/15 | |
The Black Bear Field Courses are down to one opening in each in the 3 courses that start July 12, August 16, and August 23. The other 5 courses are full (Thank you!). Looking forward to the fun and bears. I hear that participants are counting the days. So am I—for that, for the LilyPad Picnic (www.lilypadpicnic.com and
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center