Jewel and cubs - Sept 28, 2012 It is day 14 on Jewel’s GPS batteries, so we paid the family a visit. They had spent 5 hours in and around a black ash (Fraxinus nigra) swamp within easy reach from a forest road. It was a perfect excuse to get out of the office on this beautiful day. Jewel and family may be slowing down. They didn’t bother to get up as we called to them and approached. They were bedded next to a beautiful striped rock. The rock is part of the bedrock that underlies this area as part of the “Laurentian Shield” that extends from here hundreds of miles north into Canada. It’s part of what makes this area special.
Fern approaches - Sept 28, 2012When we were 20 feet away, Fern finally got up and started toward us. Eventually, all three bears became active and let us perform the battery change that will continue the stream of data to our computers regarding their pre-hibernation activities.
Fern and Jewel - Sept 28, 2012Juliet and family added a chapter today. They left their den and moved to an area we know. It’s a small oak stand. They were only there for about 40 minutes, so perhaps there were very few acorns left. Later, they visited the pond briefly, presumably for a drink. Juliet’s den completely blocks the GPS signals, so we can tell when she is in the den and when she is bedded near the den. She spent much of this warm fall day bedded outside.
Lone, pregnant females that denned early have not been making such trips away from their dens. It has been interesting to see the continued activity by Juliet, Sam, Sophie, and Sybil. Juliet settled on a den fairly early for a mother with cubs.
Striped rock near Jewel's bed site - Sept 28, 2012As we’ve said before, we used to be able to answer a lot of questions about bears. Now that we have more data, giving a straight answer to nearly any question has gotten harder. We have seen a wide range of behaviors over the years, and now you are learning along with us. The GPS data of the last few years has greatly increased our knowledge, and the knowledge of Lily Fans right along with us.
Spectacular end to the day! - Sept 28, 2012There is a real need for people, especially educators, to read the updates and bear.org. So much of bear “education” turns out to be mis-education as old misconceptions are taught without question. NABC Program Director Sharon Herrell just got back from a trip to view and learn more about brown/grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and couldn’t believe the leaders were still teaching that bears give birth in their sleep and that bears can only distinguish black and white. It just makes us try harder to get information out. The more people know about bears, the more they care, and the more willing people are to coexist. The Hope Learning Center will be key to the Education Outreach that so many Lily Fans are helping with.
We saw the final proofs of the 2013 Shadow’s Clan calendar. Beautiful. People are asking why they can’t find it online. We don’t have the calendars yet. The next step is printing them with a turnaround of about a week. It seems safe to say they will be available at the Bear Center and at the Bear Center’s Web Store ($15.95) by October 15.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center