Garter snake eating night crawlerIn the woods and neighborhood, people are sighting Shadow, Lily, Faith, and Ursula with their cubs.
At the Bear Center, interns and bear educators are making visits to the Bear Center very, very enjoyable, according to visitors and the word on the street. Visitors today were delighted to watch something that the oldest viewers said they had never seen—how a garter snake devours a night-crawler. Exhibits continue to go up.
Showing young visitor the toadShopping with Donna in Ely today, we heard so many glowing comments about the Bear Center and people saying, ‘Thank you for the work you do. I wish the DNR would stop giving you trouble. It’s pure jealousy on their part.’ It was encouraging to hear the strong support so consistently.
Elsewhere, a long-time reporter is pulling statements from the testimony of DNR employees who had to make admissions under oath. An investigative reporter has expressed interest in what we can provide. On the down side, DNR officials are approaching legislators to continue their quest to discredit our research and get a ban on bear-feeding. Legislators are listening to the DNR but may think twice when they hear “The Rest of the Story.” The DNR’s story that at first gained traction with the public is now being questioned by the public—especially the people who have long followed my research.
Feeding the turtle at the Northwoods Ecology HallOn TV, Cecil the Lion’s story will air on ABC News 20/20 tomorrow night (Friday 8/14/2015) at 10 PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time. As you know, Minnesota has its own Cecil-type story that should also go on national news—the killing of June with DNR help.
We want Den Cams this winter as the Court of Appeals approved. Their decision granted me the right to use Den Cams but prohibited use of radio-collars based on their deferring to the DNR on their interpretation of the word possess. That part of the decision was wrong. I had hoped the DNR would support the court decision on Den Cams and work cooperatively with me to do that. Instead they have redoubled their efforts to discredit and end the research. Due to the continued harassment by the DNR, I am now swaying toward a pro bono appeal of the “possession” part of the Court of Appeals decision to the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.