Kimani, Cubs, Jack, Pontoon Ride - UPDATE August 27, 2018

The hit of the day was a visit by non-clan mother Kimani and her 3 cubs. KimaniKimaniAt first it was a scramble to identify her from the picture catalog that Lorie Kennedy and Mike Johnson have put together. All the Bear Course participants watched to identify the sexes of her cubs (2 males and a female). Kimani was wary, watching for other bears. The family seemed to appreciate the new elevated feeding platform.

Jack is walking better. Instead of carrying his left hind leg up under him, he is using it but walking stiffly on it as if he still has pain. He is well over 20 and is showing signs of old age. He is still the calm, very trustworthy bear we have known since 2003.

On the pontoon ride, we saw that mallards were still in their summer “eclipse” plumage in which males and females look nearly alike except for the yellow bills of males and dark saddle on the bills of females (photo of each). They will soon molt into their breeding plumages—females with another coat of brown, males with their green heads, etc.

Kimani 2M 1F cubs2Kimani and cubs Kimani 2M 1F cubsKimani and cubs
Common merganserCommon merganser Mallard femaleMallard female Mallard maleMallard male


A common merganser, also in summer plumage, watched as we very slowly cruised by.

Another wonderful day.

Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center


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