Jack is back over 2 weeks earlier than last year (July 24, 2015). We first met Jack in 2003 when he was already an adult, probably 6-7 years old, which would make him 19 or 20 today.
Jack is back! He appeared around 7:30 AM today.
Actually, the last 24 hours have been interesting. Loppy can’t intimidate all the bears. Personalities vary. V-Dot (from last night’s update) is big but non-confrontational. Part of that might be that he is old and walks gingerly. I hated to see him have to run from Loppy two nights ago. Last night, Loppy was sitting in the 
V dotdriveway waiting his turn. I wondered why he didn’t just barge in and put the run on any impudent challengers. Then I saw a powerful bear at a feeder. It was too dark to tell who it was. I went out to get a closer look but still couldn’t tell. I couldn’t see the details of his face. Then he stood on his hind legs and showed me and I could see the big chest blaze that said it was Victor, who is almost as scarred up as Loppy. I tried to get him on the scale, but he was happy where he was. No wonder Loppy was showing discretion.
This morning, through the mist, V-Dot stayed at the edge of the woods sniffing the air for over a half hour before he decided it was safe to proceed. The picture through the mist is good enough to see the V and the Dot that gives him his name. I haven’t seen his teeth well enough yet, but I suspect he is old—probably over 20—and could be bowled over by a more agile bear like Lucky did to big Ted a few years ago. V-Dot is cautious. I tried to lure him onto the scale. He is not afraid of me but was reluctant to follow. Following would have put him closer to Drew, Bow’s black-faced son born in 2011.
Lucky and Holly A half hour later, I thought I’d try again. V-Dot wasn’t where he’d been. Drew was gone, and I mistook another bear for V-Dot. But when that bear turned to respond, it was Jack. What a nice surprise.
This evening, it is Burt, Jack, and Drew at the moment. V-Dot will probably be in later.
At the Bear Center, the staff, volunteers, and interns hid food all around the pond. They turned Holly and Lucky loose, and the hunt was on as was captured in this 3-minute video https://youtu.be/QJPZL68Sg00. Mid-afternoon, they played raucously in the pond as viewers ooed. Nice.
Out the window, I probably mis-identified the juvenile wood pewee in last night’s update. Today, I got a quick look at a similar-looking juvenile, probably the same bird, on the same branch, today, and it was wagging its tail, which would make it an Eastern Phoebe, which would be easier to believe in this area.
Herring gullAlso out the window, near sunset, this lame gull swooped in to land on one leg after waiting its turn for a piece of Eckrich Thick-sliced Bologna.
The first bear course starts a week from tomorrow, and the annual reunion at the LilyPad Picnic starts Friday, July 22 (http://www.lilypadpicnic.com).
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center