Sunrise over Deadman Lake - Sept 27, 2012Last evening at 7:40 PM, Juliet and cubs left their den and went on a jaunt to a familiar pond 2 tenths of a mile away. This is the same pond where Juliet and cubs were videoed swimming and playing together on July 20 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dm0mvuja7g). This time, the family spent an hour there before returning to their den. Juliet’s GPS readings told the story.
Deer tracks - Sept 27, 2012Today, we checked for sign around the pond to see what they were doing there. It is the nearest water, and we could see where they waded a little, probably to get drinks. As bears slow down in fall, they continue to drink after they stop feeding. A physiologist said it helps flush out wastes from their last meal.
Cub tracks in mud - Sept 27, 2012The muddy shoreline was covered with deer tracks along with a few bear tracks of adult and cub size.
On higher ground, we found where they had dug 4 shallow holes, but we couldn’t determine if they were getting insect larvae or roots. From the 8-inch diameter holes, they couldn’t have gotten much.
Leopard frog - Sept 27, 2012A lethargic leopard frog sat in the grass near the pond, soaking up sunlight after last night’s 30F low. We don’t know if the bears spotted the frog or not. As far as we know, black bears don’t eat frogs. The frog will likely hibernate in the muddy bottom of the pond soon.
Fall colors - Sept 27, 2012We pinpointed Lily more precisely today, and she is indeed at her den. We’ll pay her a visit soon to remove her ribbons and GPS unit. Removing the GPS means unbolting the GPS pack from the collar. The collar stays on so we can radio-track her if she moves to another den. But without the GPS unit, she won’t send her locations to Google Earth on our computers. We’d rather have a streamlined collar on her for giving birth this January.
White pine in mist - Sept 27, 2012Time prevented us from checking on Star today.
It’s the most beautiful time of year. Leaf colors are gorgeous, and sunrises are often enhanced by mist, like this morning.
Volunteers and staff are working on the ground-breaking for this Sunday at 2 PM. We look forward to seeing some Lily friends there.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center