Moose cow eating cattails - Aug 2, 2012Daybreak was beautiful, and Lynn took the opportunity to snap a couple pictures as part of the quest for pictures that characterize this area and show the variety of habitats. The top pictures from Lynn and others will be enlarged for the upper walls of the Hope Education Building. The pictures will help to educate about habitats and showcase the beauty of this area. A moose eating cattails and blue sky reflected in water were the easy targets today.
Mallard with 5 ducklings at Bear Center - Aug 2, 2012Next, Lynn stopped at the Bear Center. The mallard (Anas platyrhinchus) still has 5 ducklings walking and swimming among the bears with no problem. We turned off the waterfalls to make sure no duckling gets sucked into the filter.
Ted greets Lynn Aug 2, 2012Ted greeted Lynn, went to his log, and posed nicely while Lynn photographed Ted’s nose to check how his runny nose was progressing. Still running a little but vastly different from a couple days ago. He still has a little cough. The staff said that Lucky was doing well. Honey’s healing is about where Ted was a couple days ago. She was the last to show symptoms and would be expected to be a couple days behind the others in healing. We’re following the veterinarians’ advice to wait and watch the bears progress.
Lynn taking closeup picture of dead bear - July 22, 2012
Ted's nose - Aug 2, 2012We saw how rumors can fly far from reality on Lily’s various pages. When the bear was killed by a car last week, we checked to see if it was a bear we knew. It wasn’t—confirmation that bears we don’t know pass through the study area. We already knew that. Lynn lay down by the bear with his camera to photograph the feet, eyes, and fur of a non-moving bear—pictures hard to get from living bears. Somehow, a rumor grew that Lynn was lying next to the bear crying and that an important bear was killed and that we were withholding the information from Lily Fans. We like to believe that most Lily Fans knew better than to buy into that.
Another rumor grew that a bear that was killed about that same time outside the study area for being “aggressive” was a study bear. We don’t know how anyone would know that to be true when we certainly don’t. Further, we always question the conclusion that a bear was “aggressive.” Why don’t we see those bears? We know that for many people a bear seen in daylight, a bear in their yard, or a bear that ignores people is termed “aggressive.” It takes two things to make a nuisance bear—what the bear does and how people feel about it. The same bear that is welcomed by some is thought to be aggressive by others, depending upon attitude. Fear is the main reason bears are shot for being “aggressive.” Aggression is usually in the eye of the beholder.
Kawishiwi River - Aug 2, 2012That happened today, which brings us to the sad news. Little Noliana—the injured bear we thought was Oliana until the real Oliana showed—was shot and killed today. The reason—fear. We will likely never know who this yearling was. She never once came to the Research Center. We were studying her to learn who this trusting bear was and where she would fit into the local social organization. So far, we have not been able to determine she is part of Shadow’s Clan. The DNR called to tell us so we wouldn’t search in vain for her signal. They have her carcass but couldn’t give more details at this time. We learned more on our own and can only say that the reason for the killing was the usual fear and lack of understanding of bears. That’s why we strive to educate.
We are happy that in the decades we have been studying and educating, bear numbers more than tripled in Minnesota. We are happy that most members of this community have learned to understand and coexist with bears. Some newcomers arrive with the usual fears. Overall, we are happy that bears living in and around this community tend to live longer than bears in the overall population. Shadow’s clan is testament to that. Little Noliana was an exception. That’s all we can say at this time.
We are thankful for the blossoming Speakers Bureau. We look forward to what the Hope Education Building will make possible.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center