It was a day of renewing contact with special bears. That was part of a super day in which the Black Bear Field Course participants were invited to community feeding 
Lily the Black Bearstations where bears are treated like royalty.
9-year-old Lily was a highlight with all she means. I sat on the ground beside her. She ignored me but knew who I was. I’m glad she ignores me. It is that comfort that enables her to show us how she lives and lets us place Den Cams as she calmly watches. Has that lack of fear of a few researchers and others she has gotten to know made her a problem? Not at all. She has gone on to raise four litters and show the world a lot about bear life without being a nuisance.
DonnaAs with Lily, I sat beside Donna and remembered the time over 16 years ago when she slept on my lap as a 3-month-old cub. That same comfort level is there today. Donna is another bear that has shown us a lot as she went about her wild life without a problem.
With Fern, a first-time mom, we straightened out an error in the sexes of her cubs. She has 2 males and a smaller cub that is a female.
Then Jewel and her three cubs (also 2 males and a female) came on the scene. Fern and her cubs headed for the treetops while Jewel lived a life of luxury. On this hot day, she soaked in a tub, then dined at a picnic table like a privileged human. She put the run on an adolescent female that thought she should enjoy the same privileges. Not to be. We saw that Jewel’s cubs are doing very well.
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| Fern and her cubs | Fern's female cub |
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| Princess Jewel eating... | and taking a cool bath | Jewel's cub |
Out the window, a gull was calling for food, perhaps wanting the life of Jewel.
Out on the lake, wildlife abounded, including a double-crested cormorant that we rarely see. A hooded merganser was in the flightless stage of molting. And a song sparrow greeted our return to the dock with a song.
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| Hooded merganser juvenile | Song sparrow singing | Double-crested cormorant | Herring gull |
We are still feeling the glow of this past weekend's time with Lily Fans at the LilyPad Picnic. Thank you to everyone who made that possible. Next year’s picnic is scheduled for July 21-23 (2017).
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center