Lily swims a channel
May 5, 2010 – 8:00 PM CDT
Lily's been hovering along a the shore of a lake for the past couple weeks. Today we were surprised when her GPS signal suddenly appeared on the opposite side of a bay! Was the reading for real or an error? Subsequent readings showed that Lily had indeed crossed the bay.
Lily swam across a bay 183 feet wide. At 11:10 AM, she was on one side, 148 feet inland. At 11:22 AM, she was across the bay 421 feet inland for a total move of 752 feet. It's surprising she did all that in 12 minutes, but it beats the alternative— that she and Hope moved 0.7 miles around the end of the bay in that time. That would be impossible from everything we’ve ever seen. An adult bear typically moves about one mile an hour walking directly from point A to point B. A mother with a little cub is a lot slower. So 0.7 miles in 12 minutes is highly unlikely. We didn’t see her swim, of course, but from her GPS readings we believe she did. We would have liked to see what Lily did with Hope for the swim. Long ago, a man saw a mother with cubs swim across a cold river in spring about this time, and the cubs clung to her back.
June and her yearlings spent most of the day in a forest area about a thousand feet in diameter surrounded by roads and homes. This is a far cry from the roadless area she has been in the last several days.
We’re learning how bears survive and remain mostly hidden in and around this rural community.
This was the last day of the Bear Course. Such terrific people. But then, we think every group is our favorite. The courses let people get to know each other and show their endearing qualities. So much fun. We have never had a person here we didn’t like. Many people return with friends they made in the courses.
Today was the group picture, meeting Ted, Honey, and Lucky close-up, and absorbing Bear Center exhibits. Everyone left knowing more about bear vocalizations, body language, behavior, and ecology than most biologists. Once home, they are eager to share their new perspective on black bears with their friends, families, and sometimes their communities. Making friends for bears one group at a time.
Workers installed the pumps and started the waterfalls at the Bear Center today. They can be seen in the new streaming NABC webcam – the ‘pond cam’ at http://www.bear.org/website/visit-us/nabc-webcam.html.
Now, we catch up on data, field work, Bear Center work, and sleep.
Thank you for your contributions.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, North American Bear Center