Jewel standing - Aug 7, 2012This photo of watchful Jewel in fine shape, bulking up, and with new glistening fur is left over from yesterday. Too good to not include here!
Arrowwood (Viburnum rafinesquianum) berries are ripe, but arrowwood bushes are not very common. There are patches here and there, and the bears will find them, but they are not nearly the food source that the more common shrubs can be—like juneberry (Amelanchier sp.), blueberry (Vaccinium sp.), raspberry (Rubus sp.), and dogwood (Cornus sp.). Round-leafed dogwood (Cornus rugosa) berries are begining to ripen, too.
Arrowwood berries - Aug 8, 2012The Black Bear Field Course ended at the Bear Center today where Lucky was swimming with the ducklings and paying little attention to them. The mother mallard still has the five ducklings. One duckling was lost early on during one of her travels. She must like the Bear Center because she keeps coming back.
With the huge brain trust out there called Lily Fans, we’re looking for your input to make the Bear Center and the new Hope Education Building the best they can be. The new building will extend the current Bear Center 80 to 100 feet. We have a meeting coming up this Friday (August 10 at 10 AM) with the architect and contractor and want to be sure we’re not missing something important. Beyond offices and storage, the new building will hold a multimedia classroom and a new exhibit area.
Lucky swims with Mallard duck and ducklings - Aug 8, 2012What kinds of exhibits do you envision in the Hope Education Building? The exhibit area is planned to encompass the local world of the black bear—the animals they interact with and the habitats where the interactions take place. We want to show the impact of the various habitats on the local wildlife. We also want an exhibit on the ecological history of the area since the glaciers retreated. But what do the creative minds out there see? Now is the time to broaden our vision, make suggestions that can better engage young people and make the facility as a whole the most engaging, educational place possible.
Bear Center Observation Deck - Aug 8, 2012There is also the current Bear Center that we continually rearrange to accommodate new exhibits. Constant development is why all the exhibits are on wheels and connected with Velcro. As part of the change needed, we plan to extend the outdoor bear-viewing balcony onto the new building which will be attached to the end of the Bear Center where the balcony ends in the picture. What kinds of new exhibits would Lily Fans like to see in the current Bear Center?
Send your suggestions and ideas to
A video of Juliet and cubs from July 20 is posted at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dm0mvuja7g.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center