The bears are becoming more and more nocturnal, which means they are safer and safer. These are the bears that are eating the top quality food that Lily Fans donate checks to purchase for them and to share with Ted, Honey, Lucky, and Holly as needed. The money now goes 3 times as far plus there is no shipping with the new source we can buy from locally.
Faith on August 8, 2015
Lily on July 7, 2015We feel a big thank you to Lily Fans when we see bears safe here eating where they are used to eating rather than cruising the forest tracking down smells of hunters’ baits. That is one reason why the bears that visit community feeding stations survive so much longer than non-fed bears that are more vulnerable to hunters’ baits. Recent sightings include Lily, Faith, Ursula, and Bow. We were happy and surprised that 4-year-old Faith returned this year, letting us know she is still alive, now with cubs, and is surviving another hunting season. Faith and her mother Lily look a lot alike. Thank you.
Along that line, a Lily Fan asked three questions today:
1. Could you please repeat the address for contribution checks for bear food?
Yes, the best address is 145 West Conan Street, Ely, Minnesota 55731
2. Can money be sent year round?
Yes
3. What are the monetary amounts needed to purchase additional bandwidth for bear den or beaver lodge cams? Where would I send contributions?
Contributions could go to the same address, but it might be best to hold off until we know how many cameras we’ll have and what the bandwidth costs will be for each.
I’m thinking of installing a Den Cam in one of the dens soon.
There are so many reasons to pursue that avenue of research. One of them is education. I got a stimulating message today from a kindergarten teacher who wrote “I have so many questions from kids that are in 5th or 6th grade that became so familiar with the webcams in kindergarten, learning about hibernation, how bears and many animals coexist with humans, watching cubs born and grow, hearing the squealing for milk and their mothers gentle care. Young 5 year old kids were exposed to an amazing bit of science that they now 5 or 6 years later are still wanting to follow and learn. I have had trouble explaining why things have changed, and now hoping for renewal of this exposure to many age groups in our school. Thank you for all you do and the continued effort to make this happen again. My prayers are with your research.”
I say thank you. We’re working on it and generating support from a number of quarters.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center