RC's YearlingWhen I arrived at the WRI at sunrise, 16-year-old RC was there with her yearlings. RC noted that I arrived as she sat at the base of the white pine the yearlings were in. One looked down where a ray of early sunlight caught it nicely for an ID shot. RC stood up beside the tree and looked up at them. The yearlings eventually came down, and they left. I don’t know if they spent the night up the white pine here or not.
Ted supervisingNo one has seen her with 3 yearlings this year even though she still had 3 cubs last fall the last time she was seen in the community on September 23. That’s still bear hunting season, but nearly all the hunters are gone by then. Without a radio-collar on her, we don’t know what happened overwinter. RC wore a radio-collar in her early years but was a bit like her niece Hope. She didn’t really want to wear a radio-collar and had a habit of removing them. Then, she didn’t like being touched all that much and got out of wearing them altogether.
So RC has hasn’t worn a radio-collar since 2005, which is interesting from another standpoint. Hunters weren’t sparing her these last 10 years because she had a collar, but she got through all those hunting seasons anyway, despite the fact that she has had longer than most bears around here to get used to people. At the feeding stations, she’s been hand-fed all her life. It’s about the same story as Shadow who has only worn a collar for 2-3 years of her 28 years of life.
At the Bear Center, Lucky and Holly had fun playing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A93Gqsj_PPg while Ted supervised the cleaning of his chalet and pen. Others at the Bear Center worked on the new, expanded Lily exhibit.
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| RC looking back | RC looking up the tree | RC's yearling heading up the tree |
It was a good day all around.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.