In 2008, it was the Three Amigos as seen in the Bearwalker documentary. Those were Mickey, Dale, and Cal. Mickey and Dale were Braveheart’s yearlings, and Cal was June’s yearling (Lily’s littermate). Tonight, it’s Boy Named Sue (from Juliet), Doug and Jim (from RC), and 2-year-old Ty (from Bow). Actually, Ty isn’t a full member of the Four Amigos because Boy is shy of him. Ty is bigger than the others because he is a year older. We see great play between the first three or the last three with Doug and Jim playing with either Boy or Ty. Four amigos is more than we have seen before.
Another thing we haven’t seen is yearlings grooming each other for ticks. First, Doug was grooming Boy, but Boy was not as appreciative as he might have been and eventually told Doug to stop. Doug was trying hard for the tick in Boy’s ear when Boy was trying to listen for danger. Next, Doug groomed his littermate Jim, holding Jim down and grooming him vigorously as Jim acquiesced. We saw Doug remove a tick and drop it, so it is not necessarily about getting ticks to eat, although we have removed ticks and offered them to bears to eat and they swallowed them, but not always. A video of part of the grooming session is posted at http://ww
Eventually, grooming for ticks turned into 3-way play, first between Boy and Doug, then between Doug and Jim, and then Ty, Doug, and Jim. Little Boy at around 80 pounds, shied away when bigger Ty (around 135 pounds) tried to join in.
Play is a big and apparently important part of growing up—especially for males. Play is especially prevalent among the animals we consider to be the most intelligent, and bears are near the top when it comes to play.
Today, we saw June’s 2-year-old daughter Jewel and got a radio-collar onto her so we can see where she fits into the competition for territory in and near June’s old or new territory. June has moved her territory considerably over the last couple years as is common with mothers that have daughters needing territories of their own. It is easier for the mother to expand or shift her territory than it would be for her daughters to do that, and it is in the mother’s genetic interest to help assure the success of her offspring.
Today brought an opportunity to tell more about the research and the nature of bears than can be done in quick news broadcasts. KDLH Channel 3 in Duluth offered us an opportunity for a 20-minute interview that will be aired at 10 AM Sunday morning (and 14 other times) on a program call Northland Voices hosted by Barbara Reyelts. We went to the studio in Duluth for this one, which gave Sue, Lynn, and Lynn’s wife Donna a chance to take care of some overdue shopping in the big city.
The Lily Mods designated today as the day to recognize Dana Coleman and her class. What a special group! They have spent the last year following Lily, Hope, and Faith and becoming deeply immersed in nature and much more. They initiated the drive to make black bears Minnesota’s state mammal. TV coverage of the class showed the importance of these radio-collared bears to learning. Recently, Dana’s class held a read-a-thon that raised over a thousand dollars for the North American Bear Center. Amazing! Dana and her class are beyond remarkable. What lucky students to be learning all they are about nature and life.
But we hesitate to single out people or groups when so many of you are doing so much. We think about all the work being done by the members of Team Bear, Team Protect, Team Forward, Education Outreach Team, Lilypad Picnic Committee, and the Lily Mods. We think about all the food you send to the Bear Center and the Research Center for the people and the bears and all the items you buy from the Amazon Wish List to keep us going. We think about your generosity during the fundraisers and at other times. We think about the many people who vote in the contests and all the good that has come from that. We think about the FUNdraisers that so many of you have done in the past. We have become a family of people who are very keyed in to the bears and the needs and who step forward as needed to make everything a success as they see a need. We think of the advice and help we received through the Hope events of last year. This is all part of what we mean when we say each night, “Thank you for all you do.” We know we can’t begin to thank you individually without missing many. We go through each day deeply appreciative of all that you do. We know that the only way we can begin to show thanks is by continuing to do what we do.
So, once again, we say thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center