A Data Day
July 17, 2010 – 9:50 PM CDT
Some days we can’t get out in the field. GPS locations accumulate and have to be downloaded for analysis. Weights and pictures of bears accumulate in the scale program and have to be deciphered and filed while we can still remember who was here on which dates, and their distinguishing features.
Today was also a day of building a network of teachers to help expand our educational outreach to classrooms across America.
And today was a day of starting an intern, Jason Sawyer, who has Bachelor of Science degrees in Wildlife Ecology and Forestry. He also has a background in Geographic Information Systems. He will help assemble data on habitat use by June, Lily, and Hope and how it relates to forest management practices. We noticed that GPS locations from these bears showed disproportionate use of areas with a particular forest management history. We want to examine the data statistically. These areas with a more open canopy have an abundance of raspberries, blueberries, and other sun-loving berries, as well as ant pupae. Telling the whole story with numbers is a big job.
Then curiosity overcame us about Lily and Hope. Yes, they were still together. But an hour later as it got dark, they were nearly a quarter mile apart. We’re monitoring their movement and anxious to see how things turn out by morning.
Along the way, we ran into the elusive Shadow (picture), Hope’s graying 20-year-old great-grandmother. She will let familiar people come near where she expects to see people, but she is rarely even glimpsed elsewhere. She has had more opportunity than any bear in the area to learn to trust people, but she typically remains elusively in the Shadows, hence her name.
Thank you for all you do. We’re looking forward to meeting many of you in less than 2 weeks at the Lilypad Picnic.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center