 Bertha 4-21-25 |
 Bertha 4-28-25 |
 Bertha 5-12-25 |
Upon her hungry arrival on April 21, three-year-old Bertha (Shadow, RC, Bow, Bertha) was missing some forehead hair like we saw last year. That’s the most common area where mange becomes active over winter. That area and her face are kept warm and moist throughout the winter as bears hibernate with the head tucked under the chest. There was more to lose, though. She looked about the same a week later (April 28) for her second picture. A couple weeks later on May 12, little hair was left on her face and forehead, but a month later on June 17, we had to look twice to see who she was. Her hair had grown back long enough to give her a black face like the others, although the hair still had some growing to do to be full length. It’s always nice to see Bertha.
Thank you for all you do,
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center