Hope and Faith - May 15, 2011Working in the Hope Learning Center today, we tested the high def projector to see if it made a sharp, bright picture on the 16-foot wide giant screen. It did. The idea is to show students what bears do, showing it life size or bigger at eye level. We don’t know anywhere else students can see how black bears really live like that.
Sharp-shinned hawkSpeaking of Hope, this video is about as heart-warming as I’ve ever seen of any bears. Hope is thoroughly enjoying herself as she is the center of attention with Lily grooming her and Faith playing with her face. I’ve never seen a happier-looking bear. Watch her gentle mouthing of Faith’s foot at the end.
Sharp-shinned hawkHope was not only Lily’s daughter. She was Faith’s loving big sister. Faith played more with Hope than she did with Lily. Hope was the glue that held this family together, just as she was the glue that brought so many of us together. See what I mean at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0d8foYqIv4.
Around the neighborhood, bears are not the only beneficiaries of the community feeding stations. The pictures show a wolf, a deer, and a sharp-shinned hawk. Sharp-shinned hawks gather here to chase the blue jays and crows. It’s an annual stop during the sharp-shin’s migration. We have seen hundreds, maybe thousands of chases. Never have we seen a sharp-shin catch anything here. We don’t know if they have that poor luck in general or if these young sharp-shins are just practicing. The two pictures are of the same juvenile sharp-shin—one with its feathers compressed for flight (it had just landed), the other with them puffed out for grooming (which is what it then did).
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| Wolf eating at feeding station - 9-16-15 | Deer enjoys the benefits as well - 9-16-15 |
No hunting activity seen today.
Thank you for all you do and thank you for the much-needed contributions for bear food.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.