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Lily_and_Hope_-_20110223_142518We’re not worried about Lily and her family. They continue to amaze us with how they burn up energy playing despite the milk Lily is making for all three. What will she weigh when they emerge? This is the first time someone has watched a lactating mother defy all the misconceptions, play like they are doing, and then see how much weight they have lost—at least a ball park estimate. Lily and Hope weighed 234 and 61 on August 28. Lily seems to be transferring a lot of nutrients to Hope, so Hope probably won’t lose as large a percentage as Lily, even though Hope has a larger surface to mass ratio being only about a quarter Lily’s size.

With so many eyes watching, it was one of you who first spotted Jason and Faith’s eyes beginning to open over the weekend. Could they be getting that much milk to speed development? Yesterday (Tuesday the 22nd ), we had to agree when one of the cubs showed a bit of eye shine at 32 days of age. Recently posted video of last night’s play session and eye shine can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMmMEpqxI34. We believe you have been right all along. Maybe this is not as early as we thought, though, because the eyes may not be fully open for another few days, which would put it close to the 6 weeks reported in the literature.

The cubs’ ultra-cute period is about to unfold. They are also just entering their sensitive period for bonding. For the next 6 weeks, they will be tightening their bonds with Lily and Hope. In early April, this sensitive period will be complete. Then, instead of accepting other individuals, they will fear them and react defensively to them. The end of the sensitive period for bonding roughly coincides with the time of emergence.

What we’re worried about is the protection issue. We’ve tried everything and have gotten very little response from decision-makers. You wrote great letters to Governor Pawlenty with little or no response. As of October 21, his office had received 679 letter and emails favoring protection and only 6 against.

Mark Dayton became governor. We had high hopes. His uncle and aunt, Wally and Mary Lee Dayton, proposed and funded this bear research back in 1969 and for several years after that. The project became Lynn’s life work. When we were trying to create the North American Bear Center to share the findings with the public, Wally and Mary Lee came through again, giving $225,000 to get it started. Mary Lee saw the need for protection of radio-collared bears and sent our letter to Mark Dayton on to the governor’s mansion. Unfortunately, it arrived before Mark moved in, and it was probably lost along with other letters from the difficult transition period. It did not get passed on to the new DNR commissioner.

We tried to set up a meeting with the new commissioner, Tom Landwehr. He has a good reputation, and his background with the Nature Conservancy suggests he has a broad view of resource management. We had high hopes. The only response we got was a call from an assistant saying he was too busy to meet with us.  We emailed and faxed a lot of material to him and to DNR staff members involved with the protection issue. No response.

Tomorrow, the DNR has an internal meeting to discuss protection. We don’t know what to think. Will they consider the views of the general public? Of Lily fans? Will they recognize the values to science and education? We don’t believe any of them have ever visited the North American Bear Center. None of them have met these research bears. The only public comments we’ve heard from officials were concerns that hunters would have to look twice to see collars, and what if a hunter didn’t notice a collar and shot the bear? We are worried. We want to think the best of those who manage the State’s wildlife. We want to work cooperatively with them. We also want to learn all we can about bears and share it with the public, schools, decision-makers, and the scientific community. The research bears desperately need protection, considering how many have been lost since 2005. Do they realize how serious this is? We hope they do.

But to brighten our day, you sent food—a big container of the Grand Ely Lodge’s famous wild rice chicken soup. Delicious. Many sandwiches, cookies, and drinks. All good! We tried to find out who to thank. Usually we can’t find out, but this time we did. Sarah Rose and Becky Hollis deserve a big thank you along with all the rest of you who have been sending such wonderful food each week. We can’t begin to thank you. Your generosity and care shows us the kind of support that is out there. It leaves us feeling grateful—and full! Thank you so much!

Thank you for all you do.

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center


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