Wild Play
Update April 12, 2010 – 8:32 PM CDT
We’re trying to think if we ever saw such wild play as Lily and Hope show in the April 11 video clip published today (http://www.bear.org/website/lily-a-hope/den-cam-video-clips.html). We especially liked when Hope runs to Lily and initiates play-fighting with Lily’s feet. Little Hope is already into all-out play. And to see her run when other cubs are still immobile and unable to leave their dens. Lily got wild, swinging her head back and forth, picking up Hope by a leg, and man-handling her with her front paws. And Hope barely squawked.
Play is generally silent. In the movies, producers add in terrifying sounds to make it look like fighting when larger bears are playing wildly.
Juliet was a sweetheart today when we removed her small winter collar and gave her a regular collar with the little GPS unit on top to provide detailed data when she leaves the den soon. Technology has come a long way. Collars are getting lighter and longer-lasting. The batteries of the main transmitter last 5 years. We used to drive all day to get one radio-location on each bear. Now with the GPS units attached, we get many locations per day and each one is more accurate than before. Each bear has its own frequency like a different station on a radio. Juliet has been out of her den but was in the den today when we joined her. She is evidently held there by the immobile cubs. The weather is beautiful—near 60F.
Lynn is still reading and loving the birthday cards. A newspaper got wind of what a big event you made his birthday and called about it today. One of the questions was when did he know it was going to be such a big event. He said the post office and Bear Center kept it pretty quiet and he was blown away by the boxes of cards and presents. Lynn says he has never had such a birthday, and the donations are a boost to the Bear Center and the research. Donations that were to Lynn personally or that said to use them in whatever way would help the most are going directly to studying Lily and her clan. The rest is going to debt reduction as usual. Thank you so much. The donations put the thermometer over $150,000, which means the remaining debt is under $550,000.
Thank you so much for your help. So many good things are happening.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, North American Bear Center