With a great course completed and the Bear Center interns taking their turn at the WRI this evening,
Faith - 5/2/11 I came across some old favorite pictures while going through the archives for a paper I’m writing.
One is of 3-month-old Hope on April 29, 2010, less than a month after beginning life outside the den we all watched.
The next was of 9½-month-old Hope on January 8, 2011 in the den where Faith and Jason would be born in 13 days.
Then, 3-month-old Faith on May 2, 2011.
Finally, it’s 5½-year-old Lily on September 10, 2012 peering out of the slash pile den where she was beginning the longest denning period I recorded in all my research—between 225 and 235 days—about 7 ½ months. Lily arrived at the den site on August 31, 2012 where we found her bedded and lethargic with a heart rate of only 57/minute. This picture is from our next check on September 10. She is wearing red ribbons because of the hunting season that started September 1. By then, she was already too lethargic to go to hunters’ baits and was safe for another year. This is the den where Eli and Ellie would be born.
 Hope - 01/08/11 |
 Lily - 09/10/12 |
 Hope - 04/29/10 |
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center