Who are they? You guess! 7-24-2010The last Black Bear Field Course of the year has ended. Great group. We had major fun while learning directly from the bears—observing vocalizations, body language, interactions (play, chases, camaraderie, personalities, etc.). Participants learned tracking from Sue and heard two lectures from Lynn—with good discussion from this very interested group of Lily Fans.
The participant who is training for marathons saw no bears this morning while running between 6 and 6:30 AM. All part of the record.
Cub(?) at the WRI - 7-31-2010Now, we’re gearing up for 15 people coming to map bear trails and document reactions of the bears they see.
We got a message today from a Wisconsin couple who witnessed tool use by a young bear at their bird feeder a few years back that is similar to the Washington State University experiment we mentioned the other day. They wrote, “He was too short to reach the feeder and not strong enough to bend the pole. I, too, was too short to reach the top of the feeder to fill it, so I kept an old, wooden flower pot, in the shape of a window box, at the edge of the woods nearby. After several unsuccessful attempts to reach the feeder, Mr. Bear sort of sat down and assessed the situation. Then he spied the flower pot. He walked over to the pot and half carried, half pushed it to the bird feeder. Unfortunately it was right side up and when he attempted to stand on it, his foot went in the opening and it fell onto its side. He literally took that pot in his paws and turned it this way and that. You could almost see the “lightbulb” go on in his head. He flipped it upside down, pushed it closer to the feeder, and stepped on with both feet, hanging onto the pole as he did so. I don’t think I was imagining the grin on his face as he shoveled sunflower seeds into his mouth.” The writer was happy to see mention of the bear at Washington State showing similar behavior.
Lynn Rogers tracking down a bear - 7-12-2012
The Education Outreach Team is making progress. More on that soon.
Sue is off on a month-long well earned vacation. We wish her a restful and refreshing time.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center