Lucy's cub
I started the day hopeful for something special. I left the Lucky Seven gas station and noticed my odometer—seven lucky sevens! 
Odometer at 277,777That’s the most sevens I’ve seen on this old rig. It’s my 2001 Ford Van with 277,777 miles on it plus two sevens on the trip odometer. Many Black Bear Field Course participants will remember riding down a steep hill screaming—and then wanting to do it again. All very safe. Good memories. Now I use the nice 10-passenger 2008 van and can never fulfill requests to go down it again. Road construction ruined it a couple years ago.
The first sign of luck was 6-year-old Spanky showing up and showing me he is not done wanting to mate by chasing sweet 2-year-old Snowflake. At first glance, Spanky was identifiable by his wide muzzle and small eyes.
Spanky
Next, reliable 5-year-old Valentine showed me she is done mating and just wants to eat and maintain her pregnancy. Spanky ignored her, confirming what Valentine showed me. .
A big treat was a visit by one of the most comfortable bears I know—5-year-old Fred, son of Samantha and the great great grandson of Shadow. To me, Fred truly IS great.
The yearlings who visited included two that looked like they might not make it last year and made us happy to see they did. Thinking about that and the loss of Star’s Haley this year, I looked up how many bears had single cubs and how many of those cubs survived. These include 28-year-old Shadow’s Spanky (survived), 4-year-old RC’s female cub (disappeared during the mating season), 
Buck watching bear3-year-old Cookie’s Lonestar (survived), 3-year-old Bow’s Ty (survived), 3-year-old Lily’s Hope (abandoned and survived only with help), 3-year-old Jo’s Victoria (survived), 4-year-old Star’s Sammy (survived), 12-year-old Star’s Haley (disappeared during mating season). And 8 more I’m checking data on. Of the 8 lone cubs listed, 5 lived and 3 died or would have died (Hope). All three that died or would have died (RC’s cub, Haley, and Hope) were during the mating season.
A young buck with velvet horns looked intensely at an approaching bear just before he ran.
This lucky day ended with Lucy’s cubs outside the window.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center