I returned from a fun trip with my bride Donna to find it is my turn to write the update. I hear it was pretty quiet in Lily’s den today. However, we’re examining footage captured at 1:41 PM to see if one of the cubs may possibly have its eyes open. Can it be? We think of eyes opening at 5-6 weeks, and these cubs are just over 4 weeks old. Video of the footage in question can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSHU4162RZY. Last year we suspected Hope’s eyes were beginning to open Feb 25, but confirmation didn’t come until Mar 2 when her eye shine was seen.
The names of the cubs will be announced tomorrow night. Thank you to all 2213 of you who submitted names and to Team Bear for tallying them up to produce the Short List for our approval. As Sue said last night, we approved the list with no changes. Today, one of the 2213 submitters was chosen to select the names. We don’t envy their decision-making process!
My trip to have fun with Donna was great. We visited the Science Museum of Minnesota to glean ideas for the North American Bear Center. The nicest surprise was to find a ‘Lily and Hope Exhibit’ with all the updates and pictures and videos. Last year, they wanted to run the Den Cam but couldn’t because it timed out, as you remember. This year it doesn’t time out. We’ll contact them Monday or Tuesday to make sure the Museum knows.
On the other hand, we were disappointed to see a polar bear taxidermy with an unnatural snarl that does nothing to teach and everything to promote misconceptions. We were further disappointed to visit a gift shop in this otherwise wonderful facility and be greeted with a children’s book cover with an unnatural snarling bear face and stickers of more snarling bear faces inside. Again, the opposite of education. Fear sells. Our Education Outreach Program has a lot of work to do.
Along that line, computers and microscopes were everywhere in the Science Museum and were constantly in use by young people. Computers and microsopes attached to monitors are the wave of the future. We’re not far behind. Those are what the Education Program is exploring and what we are trying to expand in the Children’s Area (The Cub Room) at the Bear Center. Leaders of the Education Outreach Program are blowing on sparks and fanning flames to expand lesson plans, add items to Black Bear Boxes, and create bear computer games that teach.
Susan Adams Moloney has worked her word magic again with the following:
Hearts in Winter
Thank you for all you do!
—Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center