Inviting sight on this hot day! We’re worried about Ted. He seems to be his same old self—eager for human contact, as always. But he has lost 48.5 pounds in 4 weeks, dropping from 553 on June 23 to 504.5 today. We immediately called our veterinarians who will soon sedate him and take blood samples. They will also x-ray his right front foot and leg to see why he favors it on some days.
Picnic goers gather - July 19On July 1, the veterinarians recommended that we keep Ted in his pen, which we began immediately. We continued feeding him his usual diet, and he hasn’t seemed unusually hungry, but today we upped his rations after discovering the unusual weight loss. We’re hoping the problem is something as simple as confinement keeping him from natural greens or perhaps from gleaning remains of the other bears’ food. We will continue to feed him like a king as we await the veterinarians’ tests and results.
Picnic lunch line - July 19Out in the woods, blueberries have ripened in the last week or so and are unusually big thanks to all the rain. It is a great year for berries. We heard the same thing from Massachusetts where a late spring similarly delayed the crop. There, bears and people are seeing each other in the berry patches. Here, scats are showing a combination of wild sarsaparilla berries (Aralia nudicaulis—a favorite), red-osier dogwood berries (Cornus sericea—another favorite), and blueberries (Vaccinium spp.—likely V. angustifolium and V. myrtilloides). Typically, bears here eat blueberries as they ripen and switch to wild sarsaparilla berries when they ripen. The sarsaparilla berries disappear after 2-3 weeks, and the bears go back to blueberries and other ripening berries. This year blueberries scarcely beat sarsaparilla in ripening.
Winners of 'Lunch with Doc, Donna, and Sue - July 19The LilyPad Picnic was the top social event of the year for us. Such wonderful people. We look forward every year to seeing old Lily Fans and meeting new ones, and we weren’t disappointed. With thoughts of strong Lily Fan support, we eagerly moved toward major goals—expanding education outreach, writing a book and scientific papers, completing the Northwoods Ecology Hall and Hope Learning Center, etc. Most of today was spent adding details to a strategic plan for expanding education outreach and assuring Bear Center sustainability.
Lilypad Picnic Fun - July 19Today, as usual, began with a nature check. At 5:37 AM, Lynn checked the small remaining snow pile, which has shrunk a little more. Tomorrow, we’ll see how this day in the high 80’s affected the snow pile under its mantle of conifer needles. A big rain could finish it off.
A big blood spot on Highway 169 marks where a mother bear was hit and killed in the eastern half of our study area a few days ago. We learned of it yesterday from a lady who listens to police radio. Police reported that the bear’s cubs remained by her carcass beside the road until the carcass was removed. We are trying to determine if the bear was a resident of the study area.
Picnic raised $11200 for NABC
July 20In our earlier study in northeastern Minnesota, we found that after the mating season, many bears take trips outside their usual areas. “Between 10 July and the denning period, 22 (69%) of 32 males and 42 (40%) of 105 females foraged >7km outside their usual ranges for more than a week (male-female difference significant, Chi-squared value 8.14, 1 degree of freedom, P < 0.005).” (Rogers 1987, page 31 in “Effects of food supply and kinship on social behavior, movements, and populations growth of black bears in northeastern Minnesota.” Wildlife Monograph No. 97, 72 pages).
Cubs orphaned in late July have a good chance of survival. We’re glad the berries are ripening.
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.