Lily was seen with her 3 cubs today in her main foraging area. Good to know all is well. 
Gray fox pups
I haven’t seen V-Dot or Victor yet myself, but Mike saw the bear we reported as V-Dot and said it was Victor.
We got an email saying Donna was spotted on June 27 with 3 cubs, so that mystery is over. Donna did not stretch her string of 4-cub litters to three, and we know she is alive. The couple who reported her know her well.
Lily Fans want to know:
1. What do we know about Quill after seeing him May 24 and 25? Quill is hard enough to identify that we never quite sure unless we see him close for a good look at his upturned nose and the pattern of fur on his forehead. We see bears that act like him and look enough like him that we believe it is him, but we seldom get a good enough look at him to be sure. Neighbors routinely report seeing him.
2. Is it unusual for yearlings from different litters to hang out together after family break-up. No. They commonly do that —especially males.
3. How are Donna’s flowers doing? They look good, but deer ate every tulip.
Cedar mulch and beef fatThe wolf with the bad right hind leg that I reported on the 29th was seen the morning of the 30th but not since. It may be that Charlie ran out of fish remains, or maybe the wolf is looking elsewhere for other food. If it isn’t part of a pack, it has little chance of survival unless the leg heals soon. I wish it would come here. There’s no way it could hunt for live prey on its own with the bad leg.
We now believe more than ever that we have house guests. Time and again we have seen the two gray fox pups come out from under the front deck. We wondered if the family lived under there or if they came from somewhere else and just took temporary shelter there. Then we smelled something dead, like prey brought by the parents, where the deck is covered by the bay windows. That’s where the family could stay dry—also under the entryway. Today, Mike was sitting on the front deck when two pups emerged from there. He slowly pointed his cell phone and got the picture without their noticing. After a couple minutes, they went back under. I hope they live under there every year.
Out the window, Peggy made a pile of cedar mulch next to the pile of beef fat before she left yesterday. The cedar mulch is for bears to roll in and play in. The beef fat is for eagles, gulls, bears, foxes, pine martens, mink, etc. I checked today, and she made it home okay.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center