Back to work today at dawn. My eye caught a movement. RC and her three yearlings were coming down a white pine where they likely spent the night. 
RC and yearlingAll the bear food I had put out a couple days ago was gone. The fact that RC and her family were up a tree makes me think other bears had been around helping them clean up the sunflower seed hearts and date mash. Then I got a call that Sophie and her two female yearlings (Julianna and Peggy) were at another feeding station. Things are starting to happen fast.
With the rain and warm temperatures, all the snow is gone in the woods. Only snow-plowed piles along roadsides remain.
RC and yearlingAt the Bear Center, someone was adept at using the PTZ camera to zoom in on Tasha today. She was attending her foot pads with vigorous licking I’ve never seen before. I wondered if bears from Kentucky shed their foot pads, and Tasha’s pads look smooth and new. I want to see them up close. The 3:48 video is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOxuppfE32s.
Earlier, Tasha was startled to see Ted close. She ran, but not all the way to her white pine. It might take a couple months like it did with Lucky, but I suspect she will learn that Ted doesn’t chase her and that she can be near him. The 2:07 video is at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4fe5XZLO_o.
RCs yearlingIt was a joy at Michigan Tech University to see how the State of Michigan is partnering with landowners for land stewardship and to meet the dedicated people implementing this for the State of Michigan. I was proud to see that my Habitat Suitability Index has stood the test of time (written in 1987) and is being used as the backbone of this stewardship initiative.
Media coverage was excellent as is shown by the following links:
World-renowned researcher speaks about misconceptions of bears
https://abc10up.com/2017/04/19/u-p-bear-expert-studies-bears-close-50-years-aims-show-softer-side-species/
Bear expert speaks at Michigan Tech
http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/content/news/Bear-expert-speaks-at-Michigan-Tech-419784763.html
Expert feels safe around blustering black bears
http://www.mininggazette.com/news/2017/04/expert-feels-safe-around-blustering-black-bears/
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center