Lily and Hope in same vicinity
July 8, 2010 – 5:21 PM CDT
This morning, we radio-located Hope in a new area. Perhaps she had been there with Lily or when she was on her own prior to being collared, but we had never found her there. It was private property and we chose not to walk in to feed her there.
Mid-afternoon, Lily caused a stir by going to Hope’s usual area, making us hopeful for a reunion. We checked for Hope’s signal and found she had returned to that area as well. We could tell from Lily’s GPS readings that she was bedded, so we walked in on Hope to give her the goat’s milk formula. We found Hope 0.2 miles (350 yards) from where Lily was resting. We lucked out and collected a fresh scat from Hope. Sue analyzed it and found it chock full of ant pupae of 2 distinct sizes (see pic left). One pupae case was still tightly in the grip of the worker ant which was carrying it when Hope licked it up (see pic right). Hope isn’t strong enough yet to rip apart logs to get at the ant colonies, but ants also form colonies near the surface of the ground and under moss—which is likely where Hope found these pupae.
As you can imagine, we would be very happy to have Lily and Hope back together. Lily has no milk, of course, but Hope could really use the peace of mind of being with Lily. Hope has had to behave like a yearling newly on its own. She could use a mother to snuggle with and rely on to sense danger while Hope falls into the deep sleep of an exhausted cub. Hope could also use a playmate at this age when play with siblings or mothers is so much a part of most cubs’ lives. Of course we’d keep an eye on Hope’s condition and supplement her diet if necessary, but she would probably cover more ground foraging with Lily than she would cover on her own. She would also have Lily to help rip open logs for ant pupae and pull branches of berries down within reach.
We’re waiting for the day when they actually meet. We hope to witness their interactions and possible reunion.
Just four days left in the Chase Community Giving program. Some of you have worked extremely hard to generate the votes we see. Today, you put the North American Bear Center over 10,000 votes and kept us in the top 5. You put the Wildlife Research Institute over 5,600 votes and kept us in the top 12. We hope enough votes can be found to hold onto those positions—especially the number 5 position.
Have you voted yet?
Vote for the North American Bear Center at: http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/411838192-north-american-bear-center
Vote for the Wildlife Research Institute at: http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/237320150-wildlife-research-institute
Thank you again for all you are doing at this critical time.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, North American Bear Center