Amazing birthday!
April 9, 2010 – 7:28 PM CDT
Thank you all soo much! Your words, donations, gifts, and the overall good feeling I get from this whole experience leaves me wondering how I can ever say thank you properly. The only thing I can hope to do is to keep doing what we are doing—learning about bears and sharing it in the best ways we can with all of you and as many people as we can reach through the Internet, documentaries, the Bear Center, and publications. I’ve never felt so gratified in anything I’ve ever been involved in. It’s a joy to share and to feel appreciated. All of us at this end will do all we can to say thank you with deeds.
Today began with a visit to June and her yearlings Jewel and Jordan to replace her GPS unit. We expect a GPS position on our computer every ten minutes or so, but we hadn’t gotten one since 5:03 PM yesterday, so we assumed the batteries were dead. When we arrived, we found June and her yearlings back in their rock den. That would explain the lack of transmissions, but then found that the old unit was turned off. June must have bumped it on the ceiling of the den, pushing the power button. We replaced it anyway. At this moment, they are down in the swamp where they have been eating wild calla shoots.
Next, was the great birthday party where we met Lily’s Facebook fan Jackie Runions who I thought of as representing all of you. You were represented in other ways, too. We followed your comments on Facebook, feeling like we were part of a big, wonderful party of well-wishers. When I say we, I mean my wife Donna, Sue, Donna Andrews, and the other members of the Miracle Team you saw on the web cam with Ted and Lucky. You were also represented by the many cards. I started opening them but saw I could not begin to read them all and interact with people at the party. Donna and I took them home to read each one and not miss a word. Your heartfelt messages keep us going. We’ll also share them with Sue. A wonderful birthday—the biggest ever. And your outpouring of donations further showed your support and heart.
Next, we went to see Lily and Hope to change her radio-collar to a bigger one with a GPS Unit so we can easily tell when she leaves the white pine and begins using other habitats. Technology has come so far. Her collar will look big to you after seeing her with the little one we gave her for comfort in the den – but this new collar is the same size she has worn since she was 18 months old. You can see in today’s video that she tried to remove the new collar and then checked out her familiar old radio-collar (http://www.bear.org/website/lily-a-hope/den-cam-video-clips.html).
Thank you again for your very generous contributions, some of you donating many times over the months, and your continued support in many ways.
Heading home to open more birthday cards!
—Lynn Rogers, Biologist, North American Bear Center