I can’t begin to tell all that has happened in the last several days of no updates, big storms, Internet outages, electrical outages, etc. The bears and Bear Course participants were terrific. 
RC's cubCommunity feeders called in sightings for Bear Course participants to come and see. These enabled us to have great moments with Lily, Fern, and others, plus the bears we found on our own.
Lily leavingOld One-Eyed Jack, around 20 years old, endeared himself to course participants and showed why he is a favorite, but 9-year-old Lily might have been the biggest hit with her gentle, trusting personality and all she represents. She showed why she was such an important research partner in educating worldwide about black bears. After meeting us, she strolled off without a look back as she entered the forest to resume her private life.
After the sun had already set, we got a call that Fern and her cubs could be seen. With thanks to modern cameras that can make nearly dark pictures look like they were taken in daylight, we got a couple pictures
Fern and her cub of her and her cubs.
RC and her cubs are more skittish, so we watched them mostly from inside a gracious landowners’ cabin.
Lightning strikes near Ely at 2:30am shown on Spark™ Lightning TrackerThe big males, all up there in age, probably did the most to change attitudes about what black bears are really like. Powerful enough to command respect, they did nothing to cause fear.
Out on the lake on the pontoon boat ride, a nearby loon ignored us floating nearby as it swam and groomed in good sunlight with the forest reflected in the water. Others of the dozen loons we saw showed their excellent bird recognition skills. Gulls were flying around without apparent notice, but an eagle very high overhead caught their interest. Loons looked up at it like I’ve never seen before. Near the den where Hope was born, we saw the source of the eagles. They had returned to their nest and had at least one eaglet.
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| Fern's cub | RC and cub on back | Sven |
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| Loon | Bald eagle at nest | Mallard family |
2-year-old Sven took the prize for most beautiful bear. His forebears in Shadow’s clan are Shadow, Blackheart, Donna, Shannon, and his mother Summer.
Catching up.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center