Re: Lily and Hope - The Black Bear and Cub

Anne-Marie1981 Fri Aug 27, 2010 2:54 pm

Awwww bless!! As soon as you hear that weight, you realise how small she still actually is!!

Update August 26, 2010 – 9:25 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Friday, 27 August 2010 at 04:33
Hope Weighs In!

Hope on scale - August 26, 2010
Lily and Hope surprised us by stepping onto the scale at the Research Center early this morning. Lily weighed 229 and Hope weighed a very healthy 58 pounds. Hope further accommodated us by leaving a dropping of round-leafed dogwood berry seeds to show us what she’d been up to. After this brush with civilization, the two spent the day deep in the woods.

This afternoon, we flew to find Jo, who has moved away from roads. We wanted to attach ribbons to her collar, but she was too far away and possibly moving farther as we listened to her radio signal.

We also flew to find the long lost Cal who is now almost exactly 90 miles southwest of his den of last winter. He has moved 16 miles south from the area he used earlier this summer. He is 16 miles northwest of Hermantown.

Cal is yet another example of how human sense does not necessarily make bear sense. Cal grew up very familiar with people. He frequented households that have long fed bears. In those locations, people hand-fed and petted him, and he was cool with all of that. Researchers eventually accompanied him hundreds of hours out in the woods. He became oblivious of researchers. Cal is a perfect example of a bear that is thoroughly habituated and food-conditioned, to use the jargon words officials often use when explaining why they ‘have’ to kill bears that lose their fear of people.

Cal's location from the air - August 26, 2010
Given the assumptions usually associated with the words habituated and food-conditioned, might one conclude that when Cal dispersed from his natal range he would continue to seek food from houses and that he might even seek food from people he sees? He didn’t.

When Cal dispersed from his mother’s territory as a hefty 2-year-old, he avoided people. He traveled to a roadless part of Canada and hibernated there. As a 3-year-old this year, he wove his way southwest, again avoiding houses and people except for a brief stop at a household that welcomed and fed him in previous years. Then he continued on his way, avoiding people and crossing divided Highway 53 in the wee hours. Today, Cal again was deep in the woods (photo).

How little the world knows about the minds of bears. How much we have to learn. Cal is just another example of a radio-collared bear defying the common misconceptions about what makes bears nuisances.

While we were in the field, Lily’s fans were working hard for bears in other ways.

They further extended the lead of Bear Head Lake State Park to win $100,000 in the Coca-Cola Parks contest. Earlier today June moved to the state park—perhaps to a den site.

Lily’s fans also started the hard climb toward getting Ely Schools into the top 20 in the Kohl Care School context for $500,000. With 9 days left to vote on this, go to each of these links, vote five times for each of the two schools. We believe helping these schools will help educate local people about bears, will show the value of the radio-collared bears, and will help protect them from hunters.

Washington Elementary School
https://apps.facebook.com/KohlsCares/school/503391/washington-elementary

Memorial High School
https://apps.facebook.com/KohlsCares/school/503401/memorial-secondary

Comments I heard today from newspaper editors shows they are extremely respectful of the power of Lily’s fans and how much you are helping the region where these radio-collared bears live.

At the same time, you are working to make the Education Outreach program a success. Teams are forming to tackle problems as they come up. Corelyn is overseeing everything, and talented educators are stepping up and doing what is needed to make their areas the best they can be.

Thank you for the great amount you do.

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

https://www.facebook.com/lily.the.black.bear#!/photo.php?pid=7051436&fbid=461180245498&op=1&view=all&subj=489950164477&aid=-1&auser=0&oid=489950164477&id=263755115498

**littlewid** Fri Aug 27, 2010 5:04 pm

Thank you Anne-Marie Very Happy

I will have a good old catch up on whats been happening this week a little later. No worries about slacking, you are very busy and we understand that, so it's not slacking at all, its called prioritising Very Happy

littlewid-x-

**Laikipia** Fri Aug 27, 2010 5:22 pm

Thanks for the updates Anne-Marie - the video is lovely. Hope has grown so much but is still so small compared to Lily.

I need to read through it all properly at the weekend Very Happy

Lai

Anne-Marie1981 Wed Sep 01, 2010 12:46 pm

Update August 27, 2010 – 9:00 PM
by Lily the Black Bear on Saturday, 28 August 2010 at 04:04
This and That

In the field:

Sue tying more ribbons on June's collar - August 27, 2010
Lily and Hope are together and were filmed by the BBC. They will be two of the main bears featured in the documentary. Gordon Buchanan will put ribbons on them soon as part of the documentary.

June passed through an accessible area of Bear Head Lake State Park today, so we changed her GPS batteries and got a heart rate to see if she is starting to slow down. The heart rate of 70 today was the slowest of the summer. The nuts you sent and are sending are what make these operations possible. The bears can tell the difference between stale nuts and the fresh nuts you send. They have been a great help all spring and summer.

Knowing that Ursula may move off to den soon, we put a fresh set of batteries in her GPS unit as well. She is the 5-year-old daughter of Shadow and will likely have cubs this winter.

We finished putting signs up to alert hunters that radio-collared bears are in the area.

In the office:

Lynn did an interview with Fox 21 News to be aired this evening. He also did an interview with John Myers of the Duluth News Tribune about Lily’s fans for the Saturday or Sunday paper.

We downloaded thousands of GPS locations and have more to go over the next few days. Long hours.

In the land of Lily fans:

Conversations about developing the Education Outreach program extended to getting materials and Black Bear Boxes into library systems. This opens up a new avenue of exposure nationwide, in addition to schools, outdoor learning centers, home-schools, etc.

Bear Head Lake State Park’s lead has been extended to over 584,000 votes with 4 days to go in the Coca-Cola Parks contest to win $100,000 for America’s Favorite Park. Thanks to you, America will learn that its favorite park is right here in the home ranges of Lily, Hope, and June.

Ely’s two schools were elevated to 62nd and 63rd place in the Kohl’s Cares School contest with 8 days to go in the voting. The top 20 schools each get $500,000. Links to the pages for voting are:

Washington Elementary School
https://apps.facebook.com/KohlsCares/school/503391/washington-elementary

Memorial High School
https://apps.facebook.com/KohlsCares/school/503401/memorial-secondary

Thank you for all you are doing. You don’t know how good it is to hear the enthusiasm of the teachers in the Education Outreach project, to get your treats at the Bear Center, to see your words of encouragement, to get the nuts you send for Lily, Hope, and the other bears, to see your efforts in voting, and to meet you at the Bear Center and feel the goodness of your hearts.

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

Anne-Marie1981 Wed Sep 01, 2010 12:47 pm

Update August 28, 2010 – 9:07 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Sunday, 29 August 2010 at 03:52
The Power of Lily’s Fans

Lily nursing Hope - August 27, 2010
Yesterday, a BBC photographer watched a relaxed, perhaps blissful, Lily letting Hope nurse—and took this picture. This morning Lily’s heart rate was 80, which doesn’t seem low enough to indicate she’s slowing down yet. We are anxious to learn how the timing of Lily’s denning relates to other mothers with cubs and to other pregnant females.

We spent most of today in the office downloading more GPS data and entering a backlog of bear weights before hunting season takes over our lives in just a few days.

Meanwhile, Lily’s fans were busy working on the Education Outreach project…and busy voting.

As June returned to Bear Head Lake State Park after spending the night in the hinterlands, Lily’s fans managed to put the park further into the lead in the Coca-Cola Favorite Park contest. Fans passed the 1.5 million vote mark to create a lead of over 610,000 votes. The prize of $100,000 seems assured. Voting ends August 31.

This demonstration of voting power to benefit the area where the radio-collared bears live may help protect them. Anyone who reads the newspapers should recognize the many values the radio-collared bears—and the fans they have brought together—are bringing to this area. People we’ve talked with are adamant about protecting the radio-collared bears that bring so much good to science, education, and the area. Check this news blurb about what Lily’s fans have accomplished http://www.fox21online.com/news/lily-fans-push-minnesota-state-park-first-place-100000. We were glad to see Lily’s fans recognized immediately in the title.

The cliffhanger now is the drive to put Ely’s two schools in the top 20 vote-getters to win a million dollars between them in the Kohl’s Cares School contest. I don’t know if we can move from 58th and 60th place to the top 20 in the 7 days we have left. Among other things, a win would likely provide money for outdoor learning and the testing our Education Outreach materials in Ely school classrooms. It would also help people realize the value of the radio-collared bears to the region. A win would help protect these important bears.

To vote for the schools, go to each of the two links below and vote 5 times in a row for each of the two schools. If you voted once yesterday, please go back and vote another four times. When you have reached the 5-vote limit for each school, a message comes up saying that. Then there is nothing else you can do except to get everyone one in your network to vote, too. While winning this one seems nearly impossible, the Duluth News Tribune is describing Lily’s “army” in near legendary terms. We heard the article should appear tomorrow, Sunday. Closing the gap will be difficult with voting ending September 4. However, if any group could pull this off it would be Lily’s fans!

The links to vote for the schools are:

Washington Elementary
https://apps.facebook.com/KohlsCares/school/503391/washington-elementary

Memorial Secondary
https://apps.facebook.com/KohlsCares/school/503401/memorial-secondary

Thank you for all you do.

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

https://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/photo.php?pid=7068672&fbid=461801140498&op=1&view=all&subj=490733939477&aid=-1&auser=0&oid=490733939477&id=263755115498

Anne-Marie1981 Wed Sep 01, 2010 12:49 pm

Update August 29, 2010 – 6:47 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Monday, 30 August 2010 at 04:41
Just a Track in the Mud

All we saw of Jo today - August 29, 2010
With only 2 more days to go before hunting season starts Wednesday morning, we focused on ribbons and signs today. We tried to get ribbons on 2-year-old Jo but she was a mile and a half inside a roadless area and moving away. We got close to her a couple times, but she kept going. It was hard work on a hot day with nothing to show for it but her track in the mud (photo).

This morning, we accidentally scared yearling Sarah before taking her heart rate, which registered an excited 118 beats per minute. For her, a calm heart rate is between 80 and 90.

A sign of fall the past few days has been the terrific air show outside the office window. Each fall and spring Cooper’s hawks and sharp-shinned hawks chase blue jays and crows back and forth across the yard. We have never seen a capture.

Things continue to perk in the Education Outreach department. A new flurry of filled-out questionnaires have come in to coordinator Corelyn Senn. Also, she is hearing interest from several school counselors who have used the den cam and bear research information in their counseling work with students. Corelyn is asking that other counselors who might be interested email her at catspjs@tidewater.net.

Groups are working on online lessons, DVDs, pictures to illustrate the various educational categories, a bibliography of bear books, PowerPoint versions of Lynn’s two lectures, and traveling Black Bear Boxes. There are so many things going into the bear boxes (different for younger and older students) and more ideas are being explored. There is high excitement about the bear boxes because they are hands-on and very creative (puppet shows, skits, etc.)

With 2 days of voting to go, Lily’s fans have stretched Lily and June’s park’s lead still further.

Lily’s fans have voted Ely’s schools into 52nd and 54th places on our way to getting them into the top 20 for $500,000 each, if we can, by September 4. To vote, go to each of these links, vote 5 times in a row for each school and then ask your network to do the same. It will help education, of course, and will help protect Lily and Hope and the other radio-collared bears as people see what those bears bring to the region via their army.

Washington Elementary
https://apps.facebook.com/KohlsCares/school/503391/washington-elementary

Memorial Secondary
https://apps.facebook.com/KohlsCares/school/503401/memorial-secondary

We learned today that another way Lily’s fans are helping protect the radio-collared bears is by wearing ribbons, putting ribbons on your vehicle antennas, and elsewhere—letting people know you care about these valuable research and education animals. People are writing on the ribbons, “Spare radio-collared bears” or “Spare collared bears.”

Thank you for all you are doing to educate and protect in this anxious time.

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

Anne-Marie1981 Wed Sep 01, 2010 12:50 pm

Update August 30, 2010 – 1:45 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Monday, 30 August 2010 at 21:01
Ribbons for Lily and Hope

Lily & Hope with ribbons - August 30, 2010
For Lily’s and Hope’s ribbons, we wanted to wait to as close to bear season as possible to minimize chances of them tugging on each other’s ribbons. A problem of a mother with a cub is that they investigate each other’s ribbons and often bite them short. When hunting starts in the dim light before sunrise on September 1, we want Lily and Hope to have maximum visibility. Today, we had to go ahead with the ribbons a day earlier than we wanted. They were headed into an area of difficult accessibility. We also changed the batteries in Lily’s GPS unit in case we can’t reach them in that area the next few days. Although it is good that they are heading into that area, we still worry because there are people who know obscure ATV trails for hunting those areas.

Lily’s heart rate was only 66 this morning—in contrast to previous heart rates of 74 to 83. Is she slowing down already on August 30th? She did seem pretty mellow. Hope was the usual fireball.

Mothers generally slow down before the cubs do, and it makes sense. As food becomes short, food that can make a meal for a cub would be too little for a mother. For example, the larvae in a hornet nest is a meal for a cub but only a mouthful for the mother. So, cubs sometimes go off to forage while mother rests.

But this difference in ambition between mothers and cubs usually doesn’t show up until later in September. Lily might be on the schedule of pregnant females that are the first bears to retire to their dens—often in early September and rarely in late August. If that is the case with Lily, hungry Hope is going to think she has an unusually lazy mother—and she could be right. We’ll see how much foraging Hope does in September and how well she does at keeping Lily active. It’s all part of what we are documenting.

Today, Hope gave us a scat filled with tiny bits of leaves—some clover but mostly jewelweed. We also found many holes an inch or two deep near where we found them. Around here, holes like that usually mean bears are foraging for june beetle larvae, roots of coral root orchids, or roots of jack-in-the-pulpit. We weren’t able to tell which in this case.

Now, we’re off to try to get ribbons on Jewel and Jo. We checked on Jo early this morning and she was miles down a gated road we don’t have access to.

Thank you for all you do

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

https://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/photo.php?pid=7091936&fbid=462455675498&op=1&view=all&subj=491534414477&aid=-1&auser=0&oid=491534414477&id=263755115498

Anne-Marie1981 Wed Sep 01, 2010 12:50 pm

Update August 31, 2010 – 9:56 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Wednesday, 01 September 2010 at 04:42
Special Thanks to Lily & Hope Fans

Jo with ribbons - August 31, 2010
This morning, Jo (RC’s 2-year-old daughter) and Jewel (June’s yearling daughter) finally got their ribbons thanks in part to the nuts you sent.

Tomorrow, hunting starts a half hour before sunrise and we’re anticipating cooperation from hunters in not shooting radio-collared bears.

Jewel with ribbons - August 31, 2010
To alert them and help avoid embarrassment, we’ve posted signs throughout the study area about the radio-collared bears and we’ve tied ribbons on the collars to make them more visible. The Department of Natural Resources website asks hunters not to shoot them and has a picture of June with her ribbons. The Minnesota Bear Guides Association is also asking hunters not to shoot radio-collared bears.

Lily and Hope and their fans have made this year different—and we believe that difference will help protect the research bears.

Thanks to all you’ve done and the interest you’ve shown in Lily and Hope, the radio-collared bears have received unprecedented media coverage about their values to science, education, and the region. They’ve been the subject of TV news programs, radio programs, and newspaper articles around the world. Around Ely, nearly everyone knows about them. Yesterday, the Duluth News Tribune helped spread the word by running a front page story and picture about the economic good that Lily’s fans do for the region. The story ended by asking people not to shoot radio-collared bears.

The support we hear for the research is stronger than ever. A quick story. We worried about Cal because he is the one radio-collared bear without ribbons. We checked the plat map for Cal’s area down by Duluth and called the owner of the nearest hunter’s cabin to alert him. The hunter was a Lily and Hope fan. He expressed solid support for the research, likes bears, and said Cal would be safe on his land.

It was a joy to hear his encouragement.

Actually, we are repeatedly struck by what this year has brought. Each time we meet one of you, it’s like seeing an old friend who knows us and the bears. Who else but Lily fans knows which bear is related to which and the emotional ups and downs of this year? And each time we meet one of you, we discover another ally of the bears. Your sheer numbers make you a force, an “army” as the Duluth paper said. Your donations, your voting power, and the shopping power of the Lilypad Picnickers have not gone unnoticed by business owners and the public.

We always worry about hunting season. Every year, each bear has a longer research history and becomes more valuable to science. The thought that one quick bullet could destroy a bear that is irreplaceable in our lifetimes is chilling.

We can only trust the cooperation of hunters to spare them.

Meanwhile, your work in voting for Bear Head Lake State Park will make June and Lily’s park the winner of $100,000 in about an hour—by a whopping 644,000 votes. Incredible. At the same time, you are voting in the face of impossible odds to help the schools of Lily’s town.

As I write this, I’m watching a relaxed bear that has no idea that tomorrow the bear hunt begins. He doesn’t wear a radio-collar, and there’s no way to protect him. One thought is comforting. For some reason that we don’t completely understand, the research bears (radio-collared or not) show higher survival in hunting season than other bears. We can’t explain it. We’re just glad it’s true.

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

Anne-Marie1981 Wed Sep 01, 2010 12:54 pm

Regarding the latest update I've just updated above:
The support we hear for the research is stronger than ever. A quick story. We worried about Cal because he is the one radio-collared bear without ribbons. We checked the plat map for Cal’s area down by Duluth and called the owner of the nearest hunter’s cabin to alert him. The hunter was a Lily and Hope fan. He expressed solid support for the research, likes bears, and said Cal would be safe on his land.

So the hunter is a Lily and Hope fan, he supports the research, likes bears yet he hunts bears?? I don't understand!! I just hope and pray they all stay safe! I'm so worried for them all!! But in particular Lily and Hope, they have been through so much! I just pray Lily doesn't get spooked again and leave Hope!

**Laikipia** Wed Sep 01, 2010 3:32 pm

I can hardly bear (sorry about the pun) to read the updates now with time getting so close to the hunting season - i just pray these ribbons and collars are enough to stop the bears being hunted.

How about they just stop the whole hunting thing? Then we could all relax a bit more. Rolling Eyes

Thanks for all the updates Anne-Marie.

Lai

**littlewid** Wed Sep 01, 2010 7:53 pm

Thank you for the update Anne-Marie. It is so hard reading them now, my heart races and my tummy churns with worry for them all. I am so pleased they got ribbons on Jewel and Jo and that Cal will be safe. That did surprise me as well that the hunter said he was a Lily and Hope fan but still hunted. I am hoping the ribbons keep them all safe but radio collard bears have been killed before but hopefully with all the media attention and research Lily and Hope and all the others will be safe this year. I am also hoping that with all the attention, bear hunting will stop, it is cruel and unneccessary. This is going to be a real tough few weeks and it must be especially awful for the reasearch team and how frightening for the bears, honestly it gives me palpitations just thinking about it, its so sad.
littlewid-x-

Anne-Marie1981 Thu Sep 02, 2010 4:40 pm

:D:D:D:D
Update September 1, 2010 – 9:03 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Thursday, 02 September 2010 at 04:10
So far, so good

Lily - Sept 1, 2010
The first day of the bear hunt is over. We don’t know of any study bears killed—collared or non-collared.

We tracked movements of the bears wearing GPS units by computer. We also went out and joined June, Lily, Hope, and Juliet long enough to verify that everything was okay. To do that, we and the BBC split into teams. We think that the opening day falling on a Wednesday means a slow start to the hunt. We saw no evidence of hunters today.

Several research bears made significant moves within the last couple days. Ursula, Braveheart, and June moved deep into their territories. All most certainly are pregnant and likely have headed off to den. Hopefully they’ll settle into dens soon.

You pulled off a big victory in the Coca Cola Parks contest. This article http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/aug/26/battle-parks-smokies-contest-vote/?partner=RSS says people are stunned that a park with 1 percent the visitors and 1 percent the area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park could pull off this upset. They seem baffled how it happened. Word is out, though, that you did it. Congratulations!

You’re trying hard in Kohl’s School Contest, but that one is more of a challenge with voting set to end Friday. Your strong efforts again have made a lot of people realize that the radio-collared bears have a lot of friends who are willing and able to help the region where the radio-collared bears live and educate. Congratulations for the effort!

Speaking of education, there was rejoicing today as the Education Outreach Project Preview went up on bear.org front and center on the home page. There is a lot happening behind the scenes on that in committees coordinated by Corelyn with strong leaders and talented teachers contributing so much. Congratulations big time on this giant effort.

Corelyn is also asking teachers who used the Den Cam in their classes to fill out a short questionnaire that can be found near the top left corner of the home page of bear.org. She has nearly a hundred so far and needs more.

Related to education, a development committee is forming to raise money for the Education Outreach and generally expand our education in many directions. Education is the key to solving so many issues with bears worldwide, and Lily’s fans are building unprecedented momentum.

We’re watching in awe as Lily’s fans step forward to help in so many ways.

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=7115664&fbid=463501910498&op=1&view=all&subj=492783249477&aid=-1&auser=0&oid=492783249477&id=263755115498

I'm assuming that they will continue walking with as many of them as possible. It does make me feel slightly more relaxed to know they are out there with them. Stay safe bears!!!

**Laikipia** Thu Sep 02, 2010 5:40 pm

Lily and Hope - The Black Bear and Cub - Page 15 768480

good news for the bears -

fingers crossed they all stay safe

Lai

**littlewid** Thu Sep 02, 2010 8:33 pm

You are right Anne-Marie, it is comforting to know they are walking with the bears for added safety, lets hope it does give them extra protection, it's still a very worrying time for them all.
littlewid-x-

Anne-Marie1981 Mon Sep 06, 2010 12:46 pm

Update September 2, 2010 – 8:41 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Friday, 03 September 2010 at 03:55
Some bears are slowing down

The second day of hunting is over and our radio-collared bears are fine. We learned that one bear was registered today (none yesterday) at the nearest check-in station 8 miles from the field station. We do not have any additional information so we don’t know if it was taken from the study area or not. We’ve seen no evidence of baiting or hunting yet within the study area. Hunters that we have heard will arrive this weekend have agreed to spare radio-collared bears.

June is showing more pre-denning behavior. After her active day yesterday—despite a heart rate of only 62—she spent today in one spot near a lake. In the past, bears that were almost ready to den have spent a few days near water—drinking but not eating. A physiologist surmised that they drank to purge their bodies of waste products after they stopped eating. Other bears have shown different pre-denning behavior.

Two years ago, when June was also pregnant, she moved several miles toward a den on the night of September 1. She was in that den when we checked midday on September 6. We hope she doesn’t den where she is now. The area is safe from hunters, but is far from roads and it would be a nightmare maintaining a den cam there.

Lily & Hope in their pre-ribbon day!
Lily and Hope also spent the day bedded. Ironically, their bed was near a traditional hunter bait site. The bait site is not being used so far this season, though.

2-year-old Jo is still active and has a heart rate of 70—which is slow for her. We’ll see how soon she becomes less active.

Braveheart had a low heart rate this morning (62) before moving a mile and a half to an area where she denned in 2007. We connected with her today to put a fresh set of batteries in her GPS so hopefully we can easily tell when she reaches a den site.

These GPS units have changed the way we do research, the way we teach our Black Bear Field Study Courses, and the way we work to protect the bears during hunting season. We wonder how we ever managed without them!

The current fundraising for the Wildlife Research Institute being done by Lily’s fans will directly support the research by helping purchase research equipment to improve our tracking technology. Leave it to Lily’s fans to come up with fun and creative ways to raise money!

Corelyn, coordinator of the Education Outreach, is looking for people interested in working on lesson plans in relation to the den cam that use the themes of character traits, empathy, problem solving, decision making, bullying, etc. These lesson plans could be used in classrooms, counseling, shelters and with kids at risk. There is a great need for such plans and we would like to create a group to work on them. If you have used the den cam in this way, hope to, or just have ideas, please email Corelyn at: catspjs@tidewater.net

The staff at the Bear Center loved the ‘bear track’ cookies. The bears loved the nuts you sent from Nuts Online. They also loved the fresh-picked hazelnuts that a group of you picked and delivered from Wisconsin a week ago.

Many thanks for the voting effort for Ely’s schools in the Kohls Cares contest. You have moved them up to 51st and 54th places for an excellent showing with voting ending tomorrow. It shows again how much you support the bear study and radio-collared bears like Lily and Hope. Thank you.

On top of that, your donations to the Bear Center broke another thousand to reach $378,007 today. Amazing!

Thank you for all you do.

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

https://www.facebook.com/lily.the.black.bear?ref=ts#!/photo.php?pid=7124088&fbid=463951385498&op=1&view=all&subj=493312014477&aid=-1&auser=0&oid=493312014477&id=263755115498

Anne-Marie1981 Mon Sep 06, 2010 12:47 pm

Update September 3, 2010 – 8:24 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Saturday, 04 September 2010 at 03:23
7 PM and All’s Well

Hope on the move - Sept 3, 2010
The 6 bears with active GPS units showed little activity through this rainy, windy day. Then the sky cleared around 6 PM and all became active, foraging and moving up to a half mile in the next hour and a half. Hunting pressure is still light within the study area.

We saw a post that indicated we try to educate hunters by walking up to them in their stands when they are trying to hunt. We have never done that. The poster said we key in on GPS locations of bait sites. We don’t have GPS locations of bait sites and we wouldn’t go there and disturb the hunters. We want good relations. Stories get twisted, rumors start, and some get posted.

There are many such rumors—some even spread by wildlife officials. One is that we put fake radio-collars on non-study bears to keep hunters from shooting them. Not true. Another is that we radio-collar bears just to keep hunters from shooting them. Not true. Another is that we intend to radio-collar most of the bears in the area to protect them. Not true. Nearly all the radio-collared bears are part of a single clan that is the subject of intense long-term study. We have specific study goals, and all radio-collaring is toward those goals. Beyond that, radio-collars are expensive and studying extraneous bears would be more work than we can do.

The truth is simple. We are doing solid, scientific long-term research on one clan of bears. We have 14 radio-collars on bears at this moment, with 13 of those being between Ely and Tower. The 14th is down maybe 15 miles from Duluth-Hermantown. We simply want to pursue this in-depth study and share the findings with anyone interested as quickly as we obtain data.

Some 20 years ago, we enlisted the public to walk with radio-collared bears and had over 200 participants. The study was a U. S. Forest Service project. At the request of the U. S. Forest Service, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources closed that area to hunting to protect the study bears and the people following them. The data from that project were phenomenal. Before the area was closed to hunting, people following the bears did follow them to hunters’ baits and ask the hunters not to shoot them. The Minnesota Legislature gave support by passing a law that it is unlawful for a hunter to shoot a bear that is accompanied by a researchers and has been identified to the hunter as a study bear.

However, in the present study, we have not mobilized the public to walk with the bears for several reasons, one of which is to cooperate with hunters who don’t like to be disturbed, as the poster noted. In return, we expect cooperation from hunters. We are working under a permit from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which asks hunters not to shoot radio-collared bears. So does the Minnesota Bear Guides Association. We have lost 5 radio-collared bears to hunters during the study, and that makes us worry. The history that each bear carries, and the countless hours that have gone into building trust with that bear and obtaining the years of history make these bears irreplaceable in our lifetimes. We believe most people, including hunters, see the values of these bears to science, education, and the region. However, we can’t help but worry each year during the hunt.

Meanwhile, voting in the school contest ends tonight. A lot of schools made major efforts, it appears, but we managed to place near the top in 52nd and 53rd with a major effort of our own.

Thank you so much for the help you are sending to the research project as a result of your fundraising raffles, etc. It shows your support through this tense time. Much appreciated.

Thank you for all you do.

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

https://www.facebook.com/lily.the.black.bear?ref=ts#!/photo.php?pid=7130789&fbid=464312715498&op=1&view=all&subj=493786289477&aid=-1&auser=0&oid=493786289477&id=263755115498

Anne-Marie1981 Mon Sep 06, 2010 12:47 pm

Update September 4, 2010 – 8:21 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Sunday, 05 September 2010 at 03:18
Hunters Arrive

June grooming her belly - Sept 4, 2010
The reprieve we got during the first few days of the hunt is over. Hunters are actively hunting in the heart of the study area.

The radio-collared bears are still okay, but at least one hunter is crowding in to the property line. A friend found a trail cam at the WRI property line aimed down a game trail. The camera will give the exact time any bears use that trail.

We worry for the valuable study bears that are not wearing radio-collars. These are the bears that mate with the radio-collared bears and trust us enough to ignore us and show natural behavior. The information they give is unprecedented. Others of these non-radio-collared bears are neighbors of the clan members. These are bears we recognize when we are walking with radio-collared bears and witness territorial interactions that help us understand their social organization. Each of these trusting, recognizable non-radio-collared bears has a history of interactions with the radio-collared clan members. The history helps us understand future observations and put them in perspective.

How can we politely ask hunters to respect the research enough to not crowd in and kill bears on the property line? Can something be legal but not ethical? The next few weeks will be long.

June’s GPS stopped transmitting during the night. We tracked her down this morning and found her collar had spun around so the GPS unit was under her chin. We spun it back and took the opportunity to install fresh batteries in the GPS unit to keep her ‘on the map’ as she continues her movement toward a den. We walked with her as she traveled, foraged, groomed, and rested. She fed on clover, peavine, jewelweed, and interrupted fern. Her fresh scat was full of vegetation and a few mountain ash seeds.

Lily and Hope are together and doing fine. We saw Ty and Jack tonight after legal hunting hours, so we know they are okay.

A big thank you to the Lily fans and the WRI fundraising team that are showing such good support in this hard time. We don’t know what to say except thank you. And thank you, too, for your hard work trying to come from behind in the school competition.

Thank you for all you do.

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

Anne-Marie1981 Mon Sep 06, 2010 12:48 pm

Update Sept 5, 2010 – 8:28 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Monday, 06 September 2010 at 03:22
June Goes Traveling

Sign alerting hunters to presence of radio-collared bears in area.
June gave us a start by moving overnight into an area with very heavy hunting pressure. It’s outside her usual territory, so it’s not an area where we had posted signs about the radio-collared bears. It’s not far away as the crow flies (or as a bear walks), but it’s over 30 miles to drive to it.

Sue was up at 5 AM to post signs there to alert hunters, but her car broke down in Ely. She called Lynn, and together we posted signs amidst many ATV tracks. We saw a truck we figured belonged to a hunter, so we left a note and a free pass to the Bear Center on his window. The hunter later alerted his guide who called us.

The guide already knew there was a radio-collared bear in the area because one of his trail cameras had photographed one a week ago (when June was on another trip there, probably for bait). He said he had 4 hunters posted at baits in that area and they all had agreed to not shoot a radio-collared bear. We were glad for his reassuring call and glad for his trail cameras. He said her ribbons showed up well in the trail camera images.

June did her part today by sitting tight in a swamp all day after her travels last night. She waited until shooting hours were over a half hour after sunset and began moving about 8:30 PM.

Lily and Hope did their part, too, sitting tight in a cedar swamp most of the day and then moving mostly through private property. They are safe as we write this.

All the radio-collared bears are okay, but someone heard a shot in the study area. Much of the hunting is with bow and arrow, so we don’t hear many shots. If hunters don’t call us to look at the bear they shot, which has only happened once, we have to wonder all winter which bear was lost. In the spring, we see who shows up and who doesn’t. If a young male doesn’t show up, it could either have been shot or it dispersed from the area as they usually do as adolescents. And it leaves us wondering forever who was killed and who has moved to another area.

Meanwhile, the WRI fundraising team is coming up with clever ideas, and your responses are funny, generous, and much appreciated during these stressful times. A thousand dollars for seeds from Hope’s scat! The team is asking for Sue’s boot that was stolen by a bear 2 years ago and recently found with many bite marks. They’re asking for Lynn’s old holey tennis shoes that have walked through swamps, stepped in scat from Lily, Hope, and many others. They are tied as Lynn tied them years ago so he could slip them on and off without ever retying them. These have been Lynn’s shoes of choice for bringing food to Hope and letting Hope test the consistency of them as teething cubs like to do. They smell clean and fresh despite all they have been through. After giving them an official ‘sniff test’, Lynn says he will finally part with them.

The Education Outreach purview continues to expand as energetic leaders put their minds together. As the Black Bear Box committee and others continue to grind forward, people are talking about responding to curricula requests from school counselors, camps, nature centers, and a new concept ‘service learning.’ Counselors and others who would like to help can email Corelyn the coordinator at catspjs@tidewater.net.

Also, teachers who have used the den cam in their classes are encouraged to visit bear.org, look in the upper left part of the home page and click on the words about the short questionnaire. The questionnaires help the Education Outreach project. 137 have been received so far.

Thank you for all you do.

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

**littlewid** Mon Sep 06, 2010 10:42 pm

Thank you for the updates Anne-Marie. I need to read them all tomorrow as it's late now and I need to go to bed, but it will be a lovely read when I get in from work tomorrow bounce

littlewid-x-

Anne-Marie1981 Wed Sep 08, 2010 12:27 pm

Update September 6, 2010 – 8:36 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Tuesday, 07 September 2010 at 03:29
June is Safely Back

As far as we know, all radio-collared bears are still safe. June is back in the safety of Bear Head Lake State Park and far from people. Lily and Hope again moved little through the day and then began moving in safe areas about an hour before hunting hours ended. It was the same for most of the others.

We are wondering about Ursula. She’s been in the same place all day and she didn’t start moving this evening as expected. We wish she would move enough to let us know the radio-collar and GPS is still on her. It’s hard not to worry. This would not be a good time for her to slip her collar. Last year she slipped her collar on her way to den. We’ve readied another collar—complete with ribbons—in case we need it for her or another bear. If we don’t see movement overnight we’ll walk in on the location tomorrow.

June and cubs at a bait - Sept 2009
On the bright side, the BBC interviewed a hunter who is hunting in Lily’s territory. He supports the research and asks hunters who stay at his hunting cabin to spare the radio-collared bears. He hunts a respectful distance away from the Research Center. We got to know this congenial hunter a year ago when we introduced him to June and her cubs. Later, June and the cubs visited his bait and he recognized them. He held his fire, took pictures (see photo), and passed up his only chance at a bear last year. Instead, he showed his friends pictures of the bear he met.

The Education Outreach program is always a joy to report on with all the hard work going into it. Exciting things are coming together there!

Lily’s fans know how to have fun fundraising! We greatly appreciate your fundraising efforts and donations to the WRI (bearstudy.org) during this hunting season.

Also, a thank you to the organizers and participants of the Lilypad Picnic for the $1,000 proceeds from the silent auction that Hank and Linda Ziobro delivered to the Bear Center today.

Thank you for all you do, the encouragement you give, the angst you share, and the many ways you find to show your heartfelt support, including the treats we look forward to stopping in at the Bear Center to get before they are gone.

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

Anne-Marie1981 Wed Sep 08, 2010 12:29 pm

So very very sad Sad

cruel heartless hunter (or poacher) I read this on the train back from London yesterday and sat there crying!

Update September 7, 2010 – 4:19 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Wednesday, 08 September 2010 at 02:02
Sarah bear is dead

Sarah - August 26, 2010
Braveheart’s yearling daughter Sarah is dead. Her radio-collar was covered with bright ribbons. We thought she was safe.

We picked up her blood-spotted radio-collar from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources this morning. It had been turned in anonymously.

We are at a loss what to do to combat this kind of loss. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources posted a picture of a radio-collared bear with ribbons like on Sarah’s collar and asked hunters not to shoot these bears. The Minnesota Bear Guides Association asked their hunters to spare radio-collared bears. We contacted all the hunters we know in this area to introduce them to bears and answer their questions.

Sarah on the scale - September 4, 2010
We have gotten the word out every way we know, including signs throughout the study area. And thanks to Lily fans, a huge amount of media coverage told how the radio-collared bears are helping science, education, and the regional economy.

Sarah was a gentle, trusting, and trustworthy bear with the calm personality that allows a person to accompany her and be ignored.

Such a bear is a window into bear life for both us and the world.

One goal with Sarah was to document her changing relationship with Braveheart as Sarah grew to maturity in Braveheart’s territory. We wanted to confirm or contrast those data with what we are learning from June and her daughter Lily. Sarah likely would have carved out a territory within Braveheart’s territory, while big Braveheart usurped part of neighboring territories to make room.

Sarah - July 17, 2010
We began such a study in 2006 with Braveheart’s daughter Gracie. We remember our worry during hunting season as people repeatedly tore down our signs in Gracie’s area. We tied ribbons on Gracie’s collar. Someone who watched her run across a road said she looked like a clown with all those ribbons! Shortly, a hunter shot her and turned in the radio-collar.

We waited for Braveheart’s next litter, but it was 3 males, and males don’t set up territories in their mother’s territory.

Braveheart’s third litter included Sarah, but the opportunity for all that this gentle bear could reveal again ended with a bullet.

Ethical hunters are reacting with disgust, saying “that is not hunting!”

We both felt the hopeless sense of somehow being violated. We hoped our shaking wasn’t noticeable as we spoke to cameras for the BBC documentary. We know you understand our feelings.

We re-checked the other radio-collared bears. They seem to be safe. But we are still worried about the trail cam on a bear trail on the edge of the property here.

Thank you for your support through the hard times as well as the joyous ones.

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

Rest in Peace Sarah - I hope you didn't suffer!! Sad

what a beautiful bear
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=7170770&fbid=465901580498&op=1&view=all&subj=495744994477&aid=-1&auser=0&oid=495744994477&id=263755115498#!/photo.php?pid=7170718&fbid=465900395498&op=1&view=all&subj=495744994477&aid=-1&auser=0&oid=495744994477&id=263755115498

(three photo's just click through)

Anne-Marie1981 Wed Sep 08, 2010 12:30 pm

And an update on Ursula

Lily the Black Bear Sept 7, 2010 (12:03 PM CDT) Ursula began moving late last night. We think she must be slowing down to have rested so long in one place yesterday. Hopefully she will move to a den soon

Anne-Marie1981 Tue Sep 21, 2010 3:18 pm

I'm so sorry I've missed updating this because of work. Hope youve all been keeping up to date via facebook. I'll post all the updates as soon as I get a spare half an hour!!

Sorry again everyone.

**Laikipia** Tue Sep 21, 2010 3:53 pm

Not a problem Anne-Marie - i've been following on FB

Not sure about anyone else.

Lai

Anne-Marie1981 Wed Sep 22, 2010 10:17 am

Update September 8, 2010 – 8:07 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Thursday, 09 September 2010 at 06:02
June gives us a scare

June uses a log for a pillow as she snoozes in the dappled sunlight - Sept 4, 2010
After the loss of Sarah yesterday, our nerves were a bit frazzled today. So when 9-year-old June’s signal disappeared a few hours after a homeowner threatened to shoot her, we feared she was dead and we were stunned. We tried to shift our minds to life without June. We tried to fill the emptiness with thoughts of June’s personality and what she had shown us over the years. We thought it ironic that the bear that spends the most time in remote roadless areas would be the one killed over the loss of a birdfeeder. We thought how amazing it is that her territory surrounds the campground in Bear Head Lake State Park, yet she has never entered the campground.

We wondered if any young bear coming up could ever replace her. We missed Sarah even more, knowing that she had been perhaps the best candidate considering her personality, accessibility, and chances of long-time survival in a home range with few people.

We thought of 2-year-old Jo who could have cubs this January but who is often unavailable in roadless areas and has a high risk of being killed on Highway 169 that runs through her territory. However, she survived being hit last year and again this year and hopefully is learning to be more careful crossing.

We thought of young Jewel, June’s daughter, and wondered if she has potential.

We called the local conservation officer about June. He came quickly. Then, a location from June came up on the computer. It seemed impossible. The location seemed odd. We rushed off to see if June was okay. She was fine—and safely within her state park. Such unbelievable relief.

Back at the Research Center, after hardly eating all day, word came that Lily’s fans had delivered a bounty of food to the Bear Center. Lynn’s wife Donna brought some out to the Research Center—delicious Colorado peaches, lasagna that hit the spot, and an outstanding salad that we couldn’t fairly judge when we were so hungry. A complete and wonderful meal. Thank you!

Meanwhile, Beth Jett’s great news piece about Sarah last night on Channel 21 generated broader media coverage.

At the same time, you continued working on the Education Outreach project and making generous donations.

Thank you for all you do.

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

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