V-DotOn this second day of bear hunting season, we heard 1 shot a mile and a half east of here according to directions given us by landowners in that area. A bear in that area could be a clan bear. Community feeders will be accounting for the bears in their areas. Some of the hunters are likely archers, but we heard no unusual traffic in our area. A quiet day. The DNR offered fewer bear-hunting permits than usual, so the number of hunters is limited. We suspect the weekend will have more hunting activity.
Lily and her cubs were spotted last night in a safe area, making us optimistic about giving her a Den Cam.
A resident was nice to send us a picture of V-Dot’s battle-scarred face and gentle eyes. We recognize him by the twisted tip of his right ear, a missing piece of upper lip by his left canine, and the scar near his left eye. He is gentle and timid. We don’t hear of any sightings of him other than his visits to a couple of the community feeding stations, where people are happy to see him.
As dark as it is already on this clear evening with 17 minutes of shooting to go, we believe shooting should start and end with sunrise and sunset—not a half hour before and after. The harder it is to see, the harder it is to make a quick-killing shot and the greater chance there is of a wounded bear escaping to die elsewhere. Minimizing wounding loss minimizes the number of bears killed.
I made an error in last night’s update about the single motherless cub. Both motherless cubs that I mentioned earlier are being seen and fed regularly at the feeding site they have always favored. The single one I mentioned last night is a third cub at a site a mile from there.
Thank you for checks you are sending for bear food during this time when we are running low.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center