Lily and her yearlings are great. The photos show Lily and her three yearlings (Female Calla and Males Carex and Coverly) all at good weights looking fit and healthy.
Lily with 3 yearlings
As I heard the story of last night, things got tense, though. Big male Loppy showed up, making Lily clack her jaws with anxiety. But Loppy was her mate back in 2014. Is there a change in attitude in the works? Loppy seemed interested. Is Lily approaching family breakup?
Loppy in 2015
I saw another situation a little like this back on June 8, 2008 that coincidently involved Lily when she was a yearling. All seemed fine between June and her daughter until Big Harry came on the scene. Lily climbed a tree. June seemed confused, but then she chose Big Harry and that was the moment of family breakup and how Jewel and Jordan came to be.
Loppy in 2016But back to the present with Loppy not being welcomed. The standing picture of Loppy is from just a year after he mated with Lily and he was still handsome. The picture to the left shows him just a year later after mating battles had torn his lip and he looks more like the battered bear he is today. He is generally shy and risk averse. But I suspect there is more to come between him and Lily.
I hope there are more sightings to learn when family breakup happens and how the story goes.
Thank you for all you do,
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center