Aster just 'chilling' - May 1, 2012The day began with disappointing news. Cookie slipped her collar. When her GPS stopped transmitting, we headed out to replace the batteries. We found her collar at the base of a utility pole she had marked by rubbing. The collar smelled strongly of creosote. Disappointing.
June - May 1, 2012Then the day got better. We changed Jewel’s collar from the small collar she wore in the den to a larger one with a GPS unit. Jewel is now ‘on the map!’ A quick look around the white pine her cubs were in turned up 3 large scats full of vegetation. Their activities must have been centered around that bed tree for a couple days as Jewel foraged in the nearby lowland.
Jewel with new collar - May 1, 2012The day ended on a high note. Colleen and her yearlings have been seen. She has lost yet another collar. Her radio-signal disappeared last fall when we believe she entered a den. Several flights to locate her failed. We suspect she has a rock den so deep and convoluted that her radio signal can’t escape. This is the second year in a row her signal has disappeared in the fall and she has turned up the next spring without a collar. We’ve identified a portion of her territory we plan to search by foot in hopes of solving the mystery of the missing collars.
A video of June, Aster, and Aspen foraging on April 26 is posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVjJObCFuPI.
The first of six BBC ‘Planet Earth Live’ shows will air on NatGeo WILD as ‘24/7 Wild’ on Monday, May 7 at 9:00 PM Eastern Time. We are pleased to be part of this incredible series! The complete schedule is as follows.
Nat Geo WILD premiere schedule (times listed are Eastern Time):
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center