June Goes Traveling
September 5, 2010 – 8:28 PM CDT
June gave us a start by moving overnight into an area with very heavy hunting pressure. It’s outside her usual territory, so it’s not an area where we had posted signs about the radio-collared bears. It’s not far away as the crow flies (or as a bear walks), but it’s over 30 miles to drive to it.
Sue was up at 5 AM to post signs there to alert hunters, but her car broke down in Ely. She called Lynn, and together we posted signs amidst many ATV tracks. We saw a truck we figured belonged to a hunter, so we left a note and a free pass to the Bear Center on his window. The hunter later alerted his guide who called us.
The guide already knew there was a radio-collared bear in the area because one of his trail cameras had photographed one a week ago (when June was on another trip there, probably for bait). He said he had 4 hunters posted at baits in that area and they all had agreed to not shoot a radio-collared bear. We were glad for his reassuring call and glad for his trail cameras. He said her ribbons showed up well in the trail camera images.
June did her part today by sitting tight in a swamp all day after her travels last night. She waited until shooting hours were over a half hour after sunset and began moving about 8:30 PM.
Lily and Hope did their part, too, sitting tight in a cedar swamp most of the day and then moving mostly through private property. They are safe as we write this.
All the radio-collared bears are okay, but someone heard a shot in the study area. Much of the hunting is with bow and arrow, so we don’t hear many shots. If hunters don’t call us to look at the bear they shot, which has only happened once, we have to wonder all winter which bear was lost. In the spring, we see who shows up and who doesn’t. If a young male doesn’t show up, it could either have been shot or it dispersed from the area as they usually do as adolescents. And it leaves us wondering forever who was killed and who has moved to another area.
Meanwhile, the WRI fundraising team is coming up with clever ideas, and your responses are funny, generous, and much appreciated during these stressful times. A thousand dollars for seeds from Hope’s scat! The team is asking for Sue’s boot that was stolen by a bear 2 years ago and recently found with many bite marks. They’re asking for Lynn’s old holey tennis shoes that have walked through swamps, stepped in scat from Lily, Hope, and many others. They are tied as Lynn tied them years ago so he could slip them on and off without ever retying them. These have been Lynn’s shoes of choice for bringing food to Hope and letting Hope test the consistency of them as teething cubs like to do. They smell clean and fresh despite all they have been through. After giving them an official ‘sniff test’, Lynn says he will finally part with them.
The Education Outreach purview continues to expand as energetic leaders put their minds together. As the Black Bear Box committee and others continue to grind forward, people are talking about responding to curricula requests from school counselors, camps, nature centers, and a new concept ‘service learning.’ Counselors and others who would like to help can email Corelyn the coordinator at
Also, teachers who have used the den cam in their classes are encouraged to visit bear.org, look in the upper left part of the home page and click on the words about the short questionnaire. The questionnaires help the Education Outreach project. 137 have been received so far.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center