Wild Foods Waning
Wild Foods Waning
August 21, 2010 – 6:24 PM CDT
All is quiet in the radio-collared bear world today. Lily and Hope are together. Everything seems fine. We joined them for a while today and watched in amusement as Hope intently sniffed and then pawed at fresh deer tracks. Hope then dug at the base of a very old stump—at least until Lily tackled her to play. We had hoped to have a new video posted tonight, but we are in the midst of a computer system upgrade that is slowing things down.
We’re wondering about the wild food supply. The record early spring resulted in early blossoming, fruiting, and waning of berry supplies. We aren’t sure if ant brood will wane early, too. Feeding stations throughout northeastern Minnesota are reporting a lot of bears. That is an indication that a lot of bears will be attracted to hunters’ baits, meaning hunters could have an unusually successful hunt. There has been some concern about bear numbers being down according to a DNR census survey. So, overall, we don’t know if the number of bears killed in the Minnesota hunting season will be up or down from the general average of 3,000 to 3,500 bears. We can only hope the hunters choose to spare the important study bears that bring so much to science and the region. Everyone benefits from knowledge about bears, including hunters. Among those who ask hunters not to shoot radio-collared bears are the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Bear Guides Association.
In less than a week, we’ll be putting gaudy ribbons on the radio-collared bears to help hunters avoid shooting them. We used to tie bright survey tape to the collars, but we’ve switched to making ribbons out of florescent duct tape. This was suggested by a bear hunter who knew the survey tape ones kept tearing and needed frequent replacement. The duct tape ribbons are rugged, and they stick out rather than hang down like the old survey tape ribbons, so they are more visible from above.
We hear your good wishes for our safety and the safety of the research bears from those of you who are hunters and non-hunters alike. Thank you. This is the time of year of greatest anxiety for us and we are relying on the cooperation of hunters to spare these important radio-collared bears.
The David and Goliath story of Lily’s fans voting little Bear Head Lake State Park into a huge lead in Coca-Cola’s Favorite Park contest is going viral. It was on WCCO-TV last night in Minneapolis and will soon receive additional exposure. We hope this will help people will see how much the radio-collared research bears mean to so many and what great benefits Lily’s fan bring to the region.
The Education Outreach group continues to amaze all involved.
Donations to the Bear Center have topped $375,000. Thank you. The debt is slowly going down, and we are also getting donations to the research (Wildlife Research Institute). Thank you so much. We are enjoying the cookies and popcorn you sent this week. You all are doing so much.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center