Three days ago, "Taught" caught two videos of Tasha showing her Kentucky vigor at a time when northern Minnesota bears are slowing down. It was a joy to see Tasha energetically marking trees as if to say this is my home and I want to own it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtPkLx3qCSc, and to see her splashing in the water with the same enthusiasm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFkUacBkK5c.
At the same time, and still today, Lucky and Holly are showing us something I’ve never seen or heard of in the wild—a male and female choosing to den together. I’ve seen bears that had mated with each other comfortably sharing food long after the mating period, showing that they continued to share feelings to some extent. It seems Lucky and Holly are extending that a little further. Still learning.
Lucky and Holly on 10/12/23
To see an example, this video from "Taught" is from 10/12 and will begin at the moment they squeeze in together: https://youtu.be/TFLLvt7ZQNM?t=219. You can watch them live here: https://bear.org/bear-pen-1-cam/
I thank the mods for keeping us up on the bears’ activities at this unusual time of learning and thank you all for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center