LilyThe temperature reached 70F today with full sun. Lake ice turned black. The forest floor was soggy. Patches of snow seemed less deep. We sank less that 12 inches in, compared to 17 inches in places yesterday when we checked out Jewel’s den and measured 9 feet (exact) from the entrance of the den to the back wall.
Lily's wood chip bedToday, Lily was back in the bed where she brought Eli and Ellie the day after moving from their den. Lynn and the Black Bear Field Course saw how Lily improvised to make a bed in the snow. She resorted to the same trick she used at her first brief stop 150-200 feet from the den. She bit a rotting log into bedding-size pieces. The log was leaning against a tree up out of the snow. The big bed was still warm when we got there today. Lily, Eli, and Ellie had just moved maybe 50 feet to a big white pine that had signs of previous use at its base. Eli and Ellie were hidden high in the tree. Shortly, all three bears fell asleep—the cubs (now visible) on a high branch and Lily at the base. Lily slept on her side in the non-hibernating position. Usually the bed is at the base of a white pine. This year they compromised by putting the bed where the bedding material was, but still in the vicinity of a good, bushy, white pine that could hide the cubs.
Lily at base of the white pine Meanwhile, Sue and Lorie caught up to Juliet and her 3 yearlings Sam, Sophie, and Sybil. They gave Juliet a GPS unit to replace the one she left in her soggy den.
Jewel and FernAfter lunch, Lynn, Lorie, and the group homed in on Jewel and Fern but didn’t see Herbie. We’ll see if he's present next time. As family break-up approaches, individual yearlings sometimes go off briefly on their own. We've learned not to worry.
Sue hiked just over a mile down the Taconite Trail to find Faith and swap her small radio-collar for a larger one that supports a GPS unit. As Faith approached, Sue noticed she had developed facial mange overwinter, and she was covered with light-colored deer hair. The mange is not uncommon and the hair will grow back quickly. A quick survey of the area did not turn up the source of the deer hair.
Faith with new GPS collarIt’s always dicey removing one collar and bolting on another when you’re relying only on food to elicit the bear’s cooperation. Once Sue dug out the little tub of the sweetened condensed milk left over from collaring Fern, it held Faith’s undivided attention while the collar swap was competed. Faith is ‘on the map’ and we are now collecting comprehensive data on the extent of her territory.
Faith with slight mange on faceA Lily Fan asked why he has never found a bear carcass in the woods. He wondered if a bear would find a burrow to hide in if it is ill. We can remember 3 bears that died naturally (not shot). Mimi indeed crawled into a burrow and died of sarcocystis as a cub as was shown in Bearwalker of the Northwoods 4 years back. Midge died of blastomycosis lying in a cool pool at the age of 26. Old Female A, died in her den of unknown causes at the age of 21 on March 21 or 22, 1972.
Thank you, FaithAn encouraging message from a landowner in northern Wisconsin said, “There is a bear that hangs out and always gets into stuff looking for food. Two summers ago she had cubs. I use to think that would have been a bad thing but because of your work and web site that has changed. When I get up there, once a year, I hope and pray I will see them and be able to just sit and watch what they do, at a safe distance without interfering, of course.”
The video of Lucky manipulating his new food toy yesterday is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGfSKNT263Y.
As streams open up, new birds include Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris) and a Great Blue Heron (Ardea Herodias).
Yesterday afternoon, Pond Chat Mods held an impromptu fundraiser and raised $1064.64 in honor of the NABC's 6th Anniversary. Way To Go Team! Thank you to everyone who set this up or donated.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.