I went home too early last night. I left right after filling Quill's bowl. Not 15 minutes later, Quill arrived at 7:06 PM and stayed for 16 minutes until 7:22 PM. 
QuillHe must have wanted more, because he was back from 9:53 PM to 10:09 PM and from 2:47 AM to 2:54 AM. So when I arrived a couple hours later at 5:07 AM, his bowl was empty and the 2 pounds of pecans were gone. It was below freezing last night. On the drive to the WRI this morning it was 28°F in the valleys and as high as 34°F up on hills.
The foxes, a marten and red squirrels were at the feeder off and on. Each was eating its favorite things: date mash for the foxes and marten, and black oil sunflower seeds for the squirrels.
Lynn checking formulaJust as I was leaving now at 7:58 PM, I checked the scale one last time. Quill is here, hidden, with the scale reading 65.5 pounds with 20 pounds on the scale, meaning he weighs 45.5 pounds empty. He hasn't yet touched the formula. He is focusing on the 2 pounds of pecans. A good weight. And a thank you for the food donations.
At the Bear Center, Holly and Lucky have been in the large Bunker den together since Oct. 23. Lucky's last weight on Oct. 15, 2016 was 482.5 lbs. He is pretty much on schedule all around. Last year he denned on Oct. 14, 2015 and his last weight on Oct. 4 was 479 lbs.
Holly's last weight on September 16, 2016 was 286 lbs. Her weight last year on Oct. 27, 2015 was 247 lbs.
Scott is working on getting a den cam set up to see if they behave the same as last year. A problem with the wiring is thwarting his progress and I don't know how long it will take to get past that problem. The challenge then will be whether he can make the camera "Holly Proof."
Waiting for word on Tasha who is in Holly's den of a couple years ago.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center