With temperatures in the mid to high 30’s a couple days ago, some wild bears might have gotten some water in their dens, but not enough to hurt anything—
Red squirrelnothing like the flooding that killed one of Donna’s cubs in 2007 and flooded June, Lily, Cal, and Bud temporarily out of their den when temperatures got up into the 50's (F) in early March.
For Lucky, it meant he could drink meltwater instead of eating snow, as is captured in this 2½-minute clip by a Lily Fan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXvZs3hDK9I
Pine siskinIn another bit of action, Lucky starts to rake away some of Holly’s straw until she looks at him. I don’t know what she said. He cautiously tried again; but when she looked at him, he knew better as is captured in this 1-minute video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTMGEuKUuW4
They show no inclination to play. They almost seem wary of each other. What will they do when they emerge? How will Tasha fit in with them? We saw so much play in the wild on the Den Cams with the well nourished bears. But we suspect there is no play among malnourished wild bears after a summer of scarce food.
Gray jayOut the window the last couple days, the mink, gray jays, birds, gray foxes, and as many as 14 red squirrels at a time have been the highlights. We haven’t seen the pine marten since the 17th and wish she’d put in an appearance just so we know she’s okay. The gray jays are always intriguing. As members of the family Corvidae, known for their intelligence, they have a look like they are analyzing situations, which they do. They seem tame and unwary, but that appearance is more their willingness to assess risks and benefits to obtain food in long northern winters. In more detail, “Gray Jays opportunistically scavenge ungulate carcasses that have been opened by carnivores, ravens, eagles, and other scavengers strong enough to penetrate tough skin. Gray Jays’ propensity to approach larger animals, including people, may not indicate unwariness but rather a superior willingness and ability to assess risks and food benefits. In the boreal forest in winter, risk of starvation is greater and risk of predation is lower than in relatively food-rich ecoregions farther south.” Rogers, L. L. 2005. Weight-carrying ability and caching behavior of Gray Jays, Perisoreus canadensis: Adaptations to boreal winter. The Canadian Field-Naturalist 119(1):101-104. If you click on the highlighted title, the whole article comes up.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center