Mystery Bear and LilyLily has no problem going after bears that compete with her, especially when she has cubs with her. Today, though, she left her cubs away from a community feeding site and was leisurely eating when a bear approached. Instead of going after it, she was calm, and they ate nose to nose. Who could it have been? We got the call from the landowner and hurried over for a picture but both were gone by then. He didn’t know if it was a male or female or who it was. Still, it seemed noteworthy and further shows what we already knew—that individual relationships are important. Bears do more than respond with ritualized responses to situations. Individuals count.
Maybe we’ll figure out who it is eventually to fill in details.
New roadside sign at the NABCThroughout the study, what made observations like this important was knowing the identities, kinships, and histories between individuals involved in interactions. That information is not as available with the current restrictions on our research, but we hope to see more between Lily and this bear and determine who it is.
At the Bear Center, Scott and I had a good session of rejoicing and reveling in how things are coming together. That was centered around the hugely more inviting appearance of the Bear Center from the highway with the 10 pictures on the front of the building and the new sign that went up today. The flags that say open and “live bears’ along the highway are major eye-catchers. Attendance is up. 
Aquarium at the Ecology HallWe also were happy to see the beautiful front go on the platform that holds the aquarium. People who visited the partially open Ecology Hall were awed despite the fact that we have so far to go.
Lily fans know how much you helped.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center