Heidi and HollyAt the Bear Center, Holly was energetic, running back and forth beside the electric fence, following the lead of Office Manager/Bear Keeper Heidi Schiltz, running on the opposite side. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w69Oyn3oQM4&feature=youtu.be&hd=1
In this half-minute video clip from September 15, 2009, June and her cubs Jewel and Jordan are eating bunchberry, also called dwarf dogwood (Cornus canadensis). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hY8zvgb78Q Most of the time, they ignore these red berries, but in late summer when other berries are waning, they will pause for good patches of bunchberries and chow down.
In this 1-minute video clip from September 15, 2009, June, Jewel, and Jordan show what fun-loving black bears do when they find a good play situation like the tangle of horizontal branches on this fallen birch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asztocFbpbA
Another favorite play situation is a tamarack sapling that will bend over when bears climb it. A video at the Bear Center shows June and her cubs running to a known tamarack and jumping up on it to play. You can also watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl4CXKRlnkM.
These glimpses into the minds of black bears show there is more to these intelligent animals than most people realize. We are constantly thankful for the time we’ve had to observe bears that ignore us and show us bits of their personalities that we never dreamed we’d get to see.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center