Sometimes you have to try something new to learn something new. That's my mantra for research. But it was someone else who did that with Quill. Peggy the bookkeeper was here to work. 
Quill and PeggyShe works because she loves bears. While the cat's away, the mice will play, especially if there is a bear. I had to go home as soon as she arrived about 4 PM, leaving her alone and unsupervised. At 7 PM, action began. Quill lapped up 6 of his 7 1/2 cups of formula from 7:00 to 7:34 PM. Peggy watched quietly in the dark cabin as he got on the scale--72.5 minus 15 pounds of food on the scale, putting him at a whopping 57.5 pounds, including at least a pound and a half of formula. Say he's 56 pounds. That's up 24 pounds since his weight of 32 pounds on October 19 (21 days ago). He's gaining over a pound a day! Peggy quietly watched as he climbed the big white pine to rest on a branch.
At 2:28 AM she checked on him and found him licking the bowl clean. Shortly, he moved over to the date mash. Peggy tried to look small by sitting on the floor. Quill saw her in the dark but didn't run. As a kind of breakthrough, he put his nose on the window to look at her. Peggy put her hand there on the window. She put her hand on another window and he touched his nose there. She put her hand higher to have him raise up and solve the sex mystery. He's definitely a male. At 2:59 AM, Peggy got bolder. She grabbed some pecans and very slowly cranked the window open about 4 inches to see if he would put his nose to her hand with no window between and get some pecans. Nope. That was too much. He walked back over to the white pine but didn't climb.
He was back for more date mash from 3:41 to 4:18 AM.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center