Lucky and Holly’s First Day Out - UPDATE April 24, 2018

Sharon Shared the News

SpankySpanky

Today was an exciting day at the BC. While Mauro worked on cameras,Scott, John, and Sharon opened the bear gates for Lucky and Holly. It was a full staff alert day. Missy had her camera ready for action and Petey watched Tasha.

Scott and Petey got Tasha to get on the scale prior to Lucky coming down. She weighs 201 lbs. A loss from hibernation of 61 lbs. Her last weight in October was 262 lbs.

At the NABCHollyLucky was the first out and walked casually down to the viewing area. Upon seeing Tasha he chased her to the cub tree. She went as high as she could, huffing at him. He followed but stopped and then descended the tree. Tasha remained in the tree.

Lucky came back to the viewing area where we got a weight on him. 399 lbs. He lost 85 lbs. At the NABCLuckyHis hibernation weight in October was 484 lbs. He climbed the Honey tree but quickly lost interest. Maybe he is still tired, he did yawn a few times.

Holly climbed the cub tree with Lucky directly behind her. It looked like tiers of bears.

I called her to the scale and we got a weight on her also. 258 lbs., a loss of 59 lbs. Her last weight was on September 17, 2017 of 317 lbs.

She and Lucky played together by the pond and she ran around throwing her head from side to side. She also took a short bath.Deer with snow behindDeer with snow behind

The bears look great and are as playful as ever.

Tasha will remain cautious but I hope they will all get along this year. Time will tell.

Sharon Herrell
Senior Bearkeeper
North American Bear Center

Deer with snow-free groundDeer with snow-free groundOut the window, the wild scene heats up. The day started with a call that Ohio was spotted. She’s the 2-year-old daughter of 19-year-old RC. The landowner snapped a picture as she was sniffing something with her nose turned up trying to look like Quill. On the other phone was a person from a Black Bear Field Course back when Ohio was a cub on August 8, 2016, and she sent a picture to compare with now.

GrackleGrackleThe first grackle of the year then landed on the railing outside the window--glowing.

Next came a call that Spanky was spotted. He is the 3-year-old son of 31-year-old Shadow, the matriarch of the local clan.

The snow has melted fast. The picture of the deer shows the snowless yard. The other deer picture has snow in the background where it is more shaded.

OhioOhio Ohio as a cub 8-8-16Ohio as a cub 8-8-16 Herring gullHerring gull


The gull picture shows the nice blue sky.

Looking forward to the Mystic Lake Gathering on April 28, noon to 5 PM, hosted by Sarah Rose.

Thank you for all you do.

Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center


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