January 17, 2010 - 8:55 PM CST
Today we checked on Lily’s aunt—7-year-old Juliet. We radio-located her deep in the forest under a big white spruce that blew down a couple years ago. She’s far from electricity and telephone, so there’s no way to put a web cam in her den. Opportunities for den cams are very rare!
We found that Juliet hasn’t had her cubs yet this year, either. As a 7-year-old, she has had 2 previous litters. She had 2 cubs as a 3-year-old and 3 as a 5-year-old. She’s was one of the 10 (out of 14) 3-year-olds to produce cubs in this study. Juliet is featured in the upcoming documentary ‘Bearwalker of the Northwoods’, along with Lily and June.
We are now into the prime birthing time for bears in northeastern Minnesota. The latest we know of a bear in our study giving birth was Lily’s Aunt Blackheart at the age of 3 on about January 25, 2000—and January 25 is just a week away. Lily could give birth any day now. We’re listening and looking for cubs along with all of you.
Many thanks for your generous donations to the North American Bear Center! I hope many of you can visit the Bear Center to see the many wonderful things your dollars are helping support. We’re paying down our debt one donation at a time! –Lynn Rogers, Ph.D.