Bill - Aug 29, 2012Faith is not the only popular bear around here. Yes, she has more boyfriends than Sharon, but Sharon has handsome Bill. We wouldn’t be surprised if she mated with him last spring the way they are friends now. Bears remember their mates and give them special trust—and sometimes special affection months after the mating season is over. They share food, and we saw a female nibble gently at the neck of her mate 2 months after the mating season was over.
Bill's new coat - Aug 29, 2012Bill looks particularly sleek and handsome in his new smooth coat that shines in the sun. All the old dull fur is gone, including the last strip of it down his spine, which is always the last to go. That strip of long fur is sometimes seen as 'hackles,' but bears don't have the ability to raise their hackles like members of the dog family do. Bill is a good-mannered bear. He is respectful of people, quite timid, and gentle with the other bears, which might help explain his trusting, playful relationship with Sharon. While other bears are becoming more nocturnal, Bill is still day active.
Lily is wonderful. To turn her collar right side up and add ribbons and plastic today, Sue had to tug and twist and accidentally pull hair. Lily didn’t object at all. We think back on all we’ve seen of this bear through her life and are gratified to see the trusting, tolerant research bear she has turned into. She goes about her business and, except for accepting a handful of nuts in exchange for access to her collar, she pretty much ignores us. We look forward to the chapter or book we will write about her life someday. We hope she dens in an accessible area this winter so we all can watch her through another winter.
Bill and Sharon - Aug 28, 2012A few days ago the Duluth News Tribune ran an article about a man who was sleeping near the North Shore of Lake Superior and had a wild bear lick his face http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/240942/. We can speculate what made the bear sniff and lick the sleeping man, perhaps something the man had been eating and had on his breath, but the DNR Wildlife Biologist who attributed it to curiosity is probably right.
Lynn remembers his first bear experience. As he tried to sleep under a blanket in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, a bear sniffed him from his feet to his face (through the blanket) and moved on. The variation in wild bear behavior is broad (think of a broad bell-shaped curve). Bear personalities vary. Reactions to people vary. Reactions to rattlesnakes vary. In a study we are currently writing up, most bears leaped back and retreated when they discovered rattlesnakes. One cub repeatedly approached and sniffed a coiled, non-moving rattlesnake before calmly walking on.
We saw this nice article by a Lily Fan spreading the word at http://www.cowichannewsleader.com/news/162619886.html.
More footage of Juliet and cubs from July 12 is posted at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e35-NHstbbU.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center