Smoke in the air - Oct 3, 2012 It’s mostly waiting now. We’re monitoring radio-collared bears from a distance to determine when they arrive at their final den locations. We generally stay back to avoid disturbing them until they're settled into their dens. Once a bear is well settled in, we visit them to remove extraneous ‘stuff’ from their collar and loosen the collar if it's too tight. Our goal is to make it easier for them to curl up and tuck their nose in. We try to time it so we catch them before they fall into deep hibernation.
Tamaracks turning - Oct 3, 2012Some bears like Lily, June, Jewel, and Juliet accept our presence at their dens. That’s what makes them so valuable for studies of pre-denning and denning behavior. The den cams they make possible are a huge research privilege. These bears are used to having us around and will go about their lives. Other radio-collared bears might leave their dens as we approach or even abandon them completely. Those bears can teach us dates of arrival at dens but not much about behavior. That’s why pre-denning and denning behavior were such mysteries before the days of trust-based research and den cams.
Fireweed gone to seed - Oct 3, 2012A fire southwest of the study area has covered the study area with smoke. Out the window is a gray haze. Inside the office is the smell of smoke. Thankfully, the fire isn’t a threat to the study bears, the Research Center, or the Bear Center.
In addition to radio-tracking, we’re catching up on office work and trying recipes from “A Bear Necessity Cookbook” (http://www.bear.org/website/new-items/product/5381-a-bear-necessity-cookbook.html) created by Lily Fans for Lily Fans—and that includes us!
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center