Wolf TrackPart 1 of the 2 six-minute videos opens before dawn with Juliet and the 3 cubs seeming relatively unfazed by the wind and temperatures 32° below zero F this day last year. They nurse and protest less than expected when Juliet briefly sits up, exposing the cute cubs.
At 7:52 AM, as the sun is coming up (sunrise is officially at 7:36 AM), a cub pokes at Juliet’s arm, which Juliet raises, reminding me of when I crawled into Dot’s den back on February 7, 2003, and poked her leg with a tiny camera. Dot raised her leg, allowing me to insert it under her, giving the BBC some unprecedented shots of cubs about the same size as Juliet’s.
Despite the cold, Juliet eats snow at 10:52 AM
Deer Mouse in Juliet's Den - 01-12-14In Part 2, at 11:03 AM, just a couple minutes after Juliet may have performed toilet duties on one of the cubs, she herself backs up to urinate or defecate or both for a couple minutes.
At 1:18 PM, a Woodland Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus gracilis) climbs the logs quiet as a mouse. Juliet doesn’t stir. Unless Lily Fans can remember better than I can, I think this is the first deer mouse we have recorded. I believe the others were all voles. This mouse is the first critter we’ve seen in Juliet’s den.
At 5:23:40, Juliet again eats snow to end the video.
Part 1 of 2
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmKaV5WRpNs
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/119199886
Part 2 of 2
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RgKf7H9vNc
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/119199933
Archives: http://www.bearstudy.org/website/research/2014-juliet-archives.html
Raven TrackA Nature Note: This morning, on the dirt road a half mile from the WRI Cabin, a flock of ravens flew up revealing the skin and bones of a nearly completely eaten wolf-killed deer. This winter has had about 25% less snowfall than usual, making it easier than usual for deer to run in the woods and harder for wolves to catch them. When the snow gets deep, deer often use plowed roads. I haven’t seen many deer on the roads yet this winter. Maybe it was the six inches of recent snow that made this deer come out on the road. But deer hooves can slip on hard-packed snow on well-used dirt roads. Wolves also use roads when snow gets deep, and their pads and claws probably give them better footing. The deer might have fallen when wolves started to chase it. Wolf and raven tracks were everywhere. In the 12 hours since I last drove that road, all that was left of the deer were the head, legs, bones, and scraps of meat on the rib cage. In the last decade or so, deer have become more abundant here than ever in history. There will be much more about deer in the Ecology Hall.
If any Iowans missed the showing of Lily: A Bear’s Life last night on Public TV, it will show again at 1 AM on Sunday, February 15, if you want to record it. We are seeing good responses to this documentary.
Wolf Scent MarkingBehind the scenes, we are gathering many pictures for several purposes. For the outside of the building, we are selecting 10 pictures that will each be 10 feet tall. For the upper walls of the Bear Center and Ecology Hall we are selecting many pictures that will each be at least 2 feet tall. We are also downloading many pictures for the touch-screen kiosks and for the TV monitor that will show pictures of the wildlife whose sounds are being played in surround sound in the Ecology Hall. To speed all that up, we bought a computer and scanner yesterday, and a Lily Fan volunteered to learn how to scan slides. Thank you.
Deer taken downMore help is needed, though, to make the slide show to go with the sounds. For that we are looking for a skilled volunteer with graphics experience who can design a professional-looking slide show using both video and audio clips. Shortly, we should have the photos, video clips, and sounds for approximately 50 species of Northwoods wildlife. The task is to create an attractive slide show with interesting transitions. The slide show will then be loaded onto a flash drive and inserted into the big screen TV for constant playing in the Northwoods Ecology Hall. A full position description for this Slide Show Designer can be found at bear.org/website/volunteer. If you are interested, please fill out an application on the same page. If you already have an application on file, just express your interest in the position at
It is taking many people to put the Northwoods Ecology Hall together with all its parts.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center