Valentine's blazeLast night at 5:30 PM, Valentine and her yearlings were here for less than a half hour. They were following her closely. Around 6:45 PM, they were back, again following her closely. Shortly, there was a commotion. Valentine was vigorously chasing one of the yearlings, The other had already disappeared. Valentine paced back and forth, looking to see if they were visible. Then she turned to eating while continuing to surveil the area. That’s when this ID picture of her blaze was photographed through the window—reflections and all. At 10:45 PM, after Valentine was gone, the largest of her two yearlings showed up to reveal that he weighed 86.5 pounds at this critical time in his life.
At 10:35 AM today, the day before Mothers’ Day, a fellow feeder called to say that Valentine was at her place alone—no yearlings in sight. Each bear mother goes through family breakup in a different way.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center