After I sent the update on to the editor for posting last night, word spread that Lily was around. It became a neighborhood vigil. Which feeding station would she visit? Would she have her cubs with her? I drove to the likely spots. 
First look at Lily on June 17, 2017Then, a glimpse of black. I waited. A bear appeared. It looked like Lily, but I couldn’t be sure if it was Lily, Faith, or Ellie. I wanted to see the spot on the chest to be sure. Cubs appeared behind her. She was bringing her cubs and all were black — which eliminatd Ellie. No one has seen Faith yet, so I didn’t know what color cubs she has. I snapped pictures of them but grass caught the focus, so all the pictures were blurry until two of the cubs leaped up red pines. As the family crossed a gravel road, I said, “It’s me, bear.” She looked and came halfway toward me, stopping 20 feet away when she saw I had no food. I still wasn’t sure if it was Lily. She hurried back to her cubs, walked on with the cubs, and turned off onto a driveway. That’s where I lost them. She didn’t go to that feeding station. The neighborhood vigil continued. I checked another feeding station and my cell phone rang. She’s here, said the caller. I jumped in the van. There was the bear peacefully eating with her cubs high in a red pine in that unfamiliar setting. The landowners were watching from their deck. I started toward the bear, saying, “It’s me, bear.” She gave no sign of recognition. She continued eating without a glance toward me as I walked up to her and saw the white spot. I felt a choked up rush of joy and relief. It was her, rightly ignoring me in the way that made her so valuable scientifically.
Two of Lily's cubs on June 17, 2017Around me, she goes about her life as if I don’t exist. Total trust but no emotion on her part. It is different for me. I had worried about her when she was late showing up. I knew the film crew had spent a couple days with her, but seeing her myself created an emotion I hadn’t expected. I knew how hard the DNR worked in defiance of a judge’s order to eliminate our top bears in 2013. I knew Lily was the icon representing Lily Fans and all that we are doing for bears that conflicts with the DNR campaign to recruit hunters. I knew that Lily had done much to let people see the gentle way they care for their cubs. I remembered that the DNR had added revealing the location of her den site part of the DNR permit to place a den cam last winter, which would have revealed her location and the location of her territory where the DNR could focus hunting. I couldn’t risk her life that way. Working with the DNR, the local guide has surrounded my property with hunters each hunting season since the DNR began trying to end my research. Lily, the bear with a bounty, is the prized target of all as the documentary of 2013 showed.
Lily and cubs frolicking on June 17, 2017Seeing Lily and stroking her back as she ignored me and ate brought back the emotions of the last several years. Later, trying to thank the landowners, it was hard to get the words out without showing choking up. Seeing Lily and seeing how we were immediately back in tune after not seeing her for nearly a year brought the emotion out of me. Lily Fans know what I mean.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center