With all being calm and safe for the usual bears, it’s Shadow’s special day.
Shadow, the matriarch of the clan we are studying, defies all the usual misconceptions about bears with access to people’s food. As we’ve said before, “Food can lead bears into trouble or out of it.” In her 21 years of life, Shadow has had more years to become accustomed to people and people’s food than any bear in the study, and she has never been the subject of a complaint. She knows the diversionary feeding stations where she is welcome.
After all those years of visiting feeding stations in people’s yards in the study area, she remains nervous and cautious. She is nervous about people where she is accustomed to seeing them, and she is impossible to approach in the woods. Even though she will visit feeding stations at people’s houses, she avoids hunters’ baits.
She wore a radio-collar for a few years, but we’ve been unable to get one on her since. While she wore one, two wildlife officials from another state asked us how bears respond to people in the woods after visiting feeding stations for years and becoming accustomed to people at those stations. We said that the bear with the most years experience like that is in a nearby valley where they could see for themselves. It was Shadow, or course. They took our telemetry equipment and tried to see her. Two hours later, they returned. Shadow had led them in circles without a glimpse before heading out of the area. We remember several similar experiences of our own when we wanted to see what she was up to. She will never be a bear we can walk with, but she has other data to offer. Each bear has its own personality and its own set of lessons to teach.
She produced 20 cubs during 1995 to 2009 and probably has a litter this year. All 20 survived at least until family break-up at one and a half years of age. The first litter was two, the next 4 litters were 3 cubs. The last 3 litters have been 2 cubs. We’re anxious to see her litter for this year. Familiar daughters are June, Juliet, and RC. June (10) is the calmest daughter and the one that has provided the most data on bear ecology. June is virtually irreplaceable in our lifetimes. Juliet (8) is moderately calm and tolerates some observation but has a tendency to be blustery and likely will never change. RC has Shadow’s personality and will never be a bear we can accompany or radio-collar. Shadow’s daughters and grand-daughters now hold territories spanning 25 miles. Shadow herself has shifted her territory several miles over the years to make room as daughters grew up and took over parts of her territory.
Shadow is getting a little gray in her face but could live another decade if she is not shot.
Video taken of Faith on May 14 is posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kQ8quUbRmc. Pictures posted in this update are from that day as well.
The link to show support for making the black bear Minnesota’s state mammal is at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/BlackBear-MNState-Mammal/. Anyone, anywhere, of all ages, can sign it if you have an email address.
The first graders leading that effort are part of the WCCO-TV news broadcast tonight (Monday) at 10 PM. The story includes Lily, Hope, and Faith. It also mentions the bounty that some have placed on these bears. Check http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/ after the broadcast to see the broadcast online and see if there is an opinion poll like there was with their last story about these bears.
In the Readers Digest contest to win money for Ely, you will score a big victory in a few hours. Out of 4,568 towns in the voting, you put Ely in 6th place (in the money) with over 784,818 votes. To vote or to see what Lily’s army has done, check http://wehearyouamerica.readersdigest.com/town.jsp?town=ELY&state=MN.
Thank you for all you are doing.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center