Lily and Hope - The Black Bear and Cub

Update September 9, 2010 – 8:41 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Friday, 10 September 2010 at 04:21
All is well


Lily and Hope - September 9, 2010
We visited Lily and Hope today to change the batteries in Lily’s GPS unit. Their winter coats are coming in thick and fluffy, as the picture shows. The wavy underfur has grown in and makes the longer guard hairs stand out—which makes even little Hope look big. Hope is still protective of food and Lily backs off. We found we needed to feed them separately in order to work on Lily’s collar. Lily and Hope are sticking together and most certainly will den together in a month or so. We will all learn what happens if Lily has cubs this winter in a den with Hope.


Juliet and cub mutual tongue-licking - September 9, 2010
The BBC spent time with Juliet and her cubs today. They filmed as Juliet and two of her three cubs engaged in mutual tongue-licking—a poorly understood behavior we have only seen before between mothers and cubs in the spring. We are always learning new things. The BBC also filmed the family feeding on speckled alder leaves and male catkins. The catkins are green at this stage and will produce pollen in the spring. We have seen this type of feeding on alder leaves in the fall before and wonder what nutrients they get from these old leaves.

We have seven adult bears with working GPS units, and all are safe. This includes Lily (and Hope), June, Ursula, Jo, Dot, Juliet (and cubs), and Braveheart. A good feeling. Shadow is uncollared, but we think she has denned early as is usual for her. Donna’s GPS stopped working but she seems to have settled into the area where she generally dens. Dot’s GPS location hasn’t changed all day—if she hasn’t actually denned she is certainly slowing down. We expect the other pregnant females to den soon. The Lily and Hope denning story is still to be learned.

After the June scare yesterday, we noticed many offers to replace the damaged bird feeder—and some to replace the bird food. The offers got us thinking about the possibility of a ‘bear damage fund.’ The township has a committee to handle bear problems, and a bear damage fund here at the nonprofit Wildlife Research Institute that the Eagles Nest Township Bear Committee could use would be welcomed by all. Problems are infrequent due to the diversionary feeding program that has been going on in the township for over 40 years, but when a bear does hit feeders at the few places that feed birds, help would be great for public support and the safety of the bears.

We don’t want to overstate the danger to bears from homeowners in this township, though. The people here are used to bears. That is also a reason there are so few bear complaints from this township. Complaints depend upon what bears do and how people feel about it. As a group, people in this township are among the most knowledgeable about bears in the world. They are accustomed to living among them. They take precautions to avoid attracting bears if they don’t want to see them. And many people enjoy seeing them. Very few people have the fear or intolerance that could lead to shooting.

We heard from Doug Hajicek, the den cam man of Whitewolf Entertainment, that Sarah made national news on CBS World News. We feel her death will mean better protection for radio-collared bears in the future. Doug also said that yesterday, Lily fans were featured on the front page of Yahoo in two articles, one about the Coolest Small Town in America and another about your phenomenal effort for Bear Head Lake State Park.

Speaking of the park, while June rested within shouting distance of the park, DNR officials held a press conference to tell how they are going to spend your $100,000. Some news articles written about the press conference don’t give credit to the hard work done by Lily and Hope fans to obtain the victory for Bear Head Lake State Park. However, some writers at the conference know the real story. We’re looking forward to Doug Smith’s article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune tomorrow. We suspect he’ll get it right.

It was lasagna for breakfast this morning, salad and peaches for lunch, and cookies and candy to snack on this afternoon. Thank you!

Our email was abuzz with activity in the Education Outreach group, as is usual these days.

Thank you for your generous donations to the North American Bear Center’s debt reduction fund at bear.org and to the Wildlife Research Institute’s research fund at bearstudy.org. You are making a tremendous difference, as you know.

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

Hope is so big now
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Update September 17, 2010 – 11:20 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Saturday, 18 September 2010 at 05:50
Denning activities?

NOTE: Lynn checked on the bear killed on Highway 169. He found it was an unknown male cub and not one of the research bears.


Braveheart in hazel thicket - September 17, 2010

birch log dug for grubs - September 17, 2010
Today we radio-located Braveheart in a remote area to change the batteries on her GPS unit. She was bedded in a hazel thicket. Nearby was a birch log that had been freshly ripped apart for grubs. There was dirt on Braveheart’s nose—which

yummy(?) grub - September 17, 2010
sometimes indicates den-digging—but a check of the surrounding area did not confirm a den.


Lily resting - September 17, 2010
Lily’s GPS unit also needed a battery change. We found Lily and Hope bedded in a cedar swamp. In order to work on the collar

Hope actively engaged in idleness - September 17, 2010
of a mother with a cub, it’s necessary to feed the cub as well—which we did. However, once again, Hope wanted all the nuts and backed Lily off. Hope finally settled in to feed on her own little pile of nuts. Lily came back and we successfully changed the batteries. Lily played briefly with Hope then curled up with her head tucked to her chest and went to sleep. Hope played idly nearby with alder branches. Lily has really slowed down and is spending many hours sleeping.

When we saw Juliet and her cubs today, her crown, ears, and right cheek were light brown with wet soil. It rained this morning. Was she digging a den in wet soil? The cubs were clean, showing they didn’t participate in digging. Time will tell.

Meanwhile, discussion continues on the Education Outreach Project, which could include a speaker’s bureau.

June entered her den at 10:24 PM last night and we’re hopeful this den is her final choice. At some point she will come out to rake in fresh bedding. That could be a while though. In 2007, she spent a week in her den before raking any bedding into it.

At the Bear Center, people were feasting on spaghetti, salad, rolls, Mediteranean treats, and a coconut cream pie. Thank you from everyone.

At the same time, the thermometers were going up to help debt reduction on bear.org and to help protect the research bears on bearstudy.org. Thank you again.

Tonight, we finished the letter to Commissioner Mark Holsten asking for a Commissioner’s order to protect radio-collared bears with ribbons in the area east of Highway 53 in Townships 60-64N in central St. Louis County. This would protect most of the radio-collared bears most of the time. We would hope the DNR would ask hunters not to shoot those that occasionally roam outside that area. Thanks for your continued help on that. Your very well written letters hopefully will make a difference. Like one of you said. We hope people are listening there.

Thank you for all you do.

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

Beautiful Lily
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Gorgeous Hope
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Update September 19, 2010 – 9:32 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Monday, 20 September 2010 at 04:31
When do bears select their dens?


Hope - September 19, 2010
We wonder when bears select their dens. Years ago, June worked for over half an hour enlarging a den on July 19 and didn’t come back to it until she was ready to go in for the winter. Tonight Braveheart seems to be at the dug den she’s been hovering around since last night. We stumbled upon this den on June 30 when we were radio-locating Braveheart to change the batteries in her GPS unit. The den showed signs of recent activity and we suspected Braveheart had been checking it out. Fortunately, we GPSed the location of the den and can now compare it to the readings we are getting from Braveheart’s collar—a near perfect match.

We’ve seen bears checking out potential den spots all spring and summer as they forage—especially pregnant females. Years ago, Big Mac roamed 126 miles outside his usual range starting in July and then came directly back to a den in October like he already knew exactly where he wanted to den up for the winter. The den just fit his 450-pound body. We knew he’d never used that den before because we had checked it each winter ever since another 450-pound bear used it six years earlier.

When we changed the batteries in Ursula’s GPS unit tonight we found grit under the flap of the case that holds the GPS unit. We suspect she’s been doing some den work.

Lily and Hope moved nearly two miles southwest overnight, stayed put all day. They were observed feeding on large-leaf aster leaves. Earlier tonight they moved further south but they appear to be bedded again now. We dearly want to put a Den Cam in their den. We hope they aren’t too hard on us with the den location. We had also wanted to put a Den Cam in June’s den, but she denned where it would be impossible to get to her for long periods, which could be bad if something went wrong with the equipment. We’d all be without a picture for a month or so.

Whatever happens, though, we have to get a Den Cam in Lily’s den. We have to know how the story comes out with Hope being in there when Lily gives birth and nurses cubs.

We’ve heard several questions about the Black Bear Boxes, the Educational Outreach people are making. These will be available for rent by schools eventually. Several people are working on getting the materials together. Others designed the very well received logo to go on the boxes. There is so much interest in having a modified version of the logo with its beautiful silhouette of a mother and cub (Lily and Hope?) for a decal and a bumper sticker that the makers and the retail people will probably collaborate to make them available. The simple silhouettes with a background that makes them look like they are back-lighted by a setting sun are beautiful.

We’d love to give individual credit on so many things, but we hesitate to start that because it is too easy to miss other deserving people. We are thankful to you as a talented group who have done so much, stepping up where you see needs and making your actions labors of love. It shows in so many things, like your excellent letters to officials. The list could go on. There is a lot going on behind the scenes. Things are coming together on one thing and another, thanks to you.

Thank you for all you do.

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

She may have grown, but she's still not grown into those ears!!
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So very sad!! Rest in Peace Cal!!! I remember crying in the documentary when another one of the three amigos was killed! poor poor bears!!

Update September 21, 2010 – 10:00 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Wednesday, 22 September 2010 at 05:14
Lily’s brother Cal is killed

Cal’s story


Sue Mansfield collaring 3-year-old Cal - May 8, 2010
We learned today that Cal was killed September 3, a day or two before Sarah. Cal was radio-collared but had no ribbons, so we’re not blaming the hunter. If it was illegal to kill radio-collared bears, this would be a situation where we would expect a game warden to use discretion and not charge the hunter.

We would have liked to get more data from Cal. He provided the best data on the dispersal movements of a young male black bear from his birthplace that we know of anywhere. Usually, we don’t radio-collar young males because they travel so far that the chances are too great of losing them and having to spend a fortune in airplane flights to find them and remove their collars. However, with recent advances in GPS technology, we could radio-collar Cal, who is Lily’s brother and one of the 3 amigos in the Bearwalker documentary. Cal was also featured as a newborn cub in the den in SpringWatch USA on Animal Planet back in 2007, and was one of the bears in the BBC Series Life: Insects in 2008.

Cal was a sweetheart as a cub and yearling. We put a radio-collar on him in August 2008 to learn about his relationship with Mickey and Dale, the other two members of the 3 amigos. However, Dale and Mickey were shot early in the hunting season that year. We followed Cal to his den. We coaxed him to the entrance and removed his collar, thinking he would disperse the next spring and we’d never see him again. We wished we could follow his dispersal movements and learn that aspect of bear life, but it would have been too risky.

In April 2009, he left that den and probably left the area. We didn’t see him at all until August. By then, we were using GPS attachments. We were very glad to see him. We gave him a radio-collar with a GPS attachment and followed his movements on Google Earth as he made his way 30 miles north to Crooked Lake on the Canadian Border. To our surprise, he came back to his birthplace, so we put fresh batteries in his GPS attachment to see where he would go next. He stayed around for a couple weeks until the batteries expired, and then he disappeared.

We flew up to Crooked Lake and Kenora, Ontario, to look for him. No luck. Later in fall, when we figured he was in a den, we flew again. We covered a bigger area and found him 38 miles northeast of his birthplace. He was in Canada north of Prairie Portage, which is a place Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) users will recognize. We knew we had to remove his collar while we had a chance. Airplane rental had already cost nearly a thousand dollars and we figured he would continue to disperse north in the spring.

We paid Jeep LaTourelle to boat us up to Prairie Portage and wait several hours for us as we clambered over logs in the BWCAW blowdown area. That’s an area where straightline winds had leveled the forest a decade ago in the storm of a century. Cal recognized us and came to the entrance of his den as he had done with us a year earlier. We removed his collar and said goodbye. We were amazed how far he had traveled and thought that was the end of the story for him. We didn’t know that the story was just beginning.

To our surprise, he showed up in his birthplace area again this spring (2010). We thought that as long as he keeps coming back, we might as well put a radio-collar on him again with the GPS attachment (picture). As a 3-year-old, there was a good chance he had settled into a movement pattern and had a mating range established—probably up in Canada where we had tracked him. Wrong. But that’s why we do research.

He moved south, far south. Before he left his birthplace area, he bedded in a spot he had bedded with June, Lily, and Bud as a cub and a yearling. Then he headed out. Cal is a bear that had no fear of us. He had learned to accept BBC film crews and people who accompanied us when we followed him. You can see how accepting he was of us in the Bearwalker scene of putting a radio-collar on him as one of the 3 Amigos. One would think he wouldn’t try very hard to avoid people. Wrong again. As he meandered SSW, his GPS locations showed that he avoided any hint of civilization. He skirted around farms and cabins. He avoided towns and sources of garbage and birdfeeders as he moved some 45 miles SSW to the vicinity of Melrude and Cotton, MN and westward.

After a couple weeks, we visited him to change the batteries in his radio-collar. It took over an hour to connect with him. He wouldn’t believe “It’s me, bear.” He circled out of sight. Eventually, we got close enough to see a bit of him watching us through the bushes. By then, he must have scented us as well as hearing our familiar voices. We eased closer, talking to him. Within throwing range, we tossed him a brazil nut. Even then, he remained cautious and came only slowly. When he joined us, the tension left him. He was calm. We changed his batteries, thanked him, and left. He continued to roam the same area.

A couple weeks later, we tried to change his batteries again. His signal was close. We entered the woods, calling to him. It was breezy. He cleared out. We returned to the vehicle and tracked him nearly two miles from roads, checking the map to see how to get out in front of him and intercept him.

We saw a chance to catch up to him if we walked fast down an old road that said “No vehicles allowed.” We called out repeatedly as we hurried along. He apparently never heard us. As we came over a rise, he looked back over his shoulder and bolted—that last we ever saw of him. There was no catching up to him in the habitat he fled into that late in the day. His GPS batteries expired the next day.

On August 25, we flew to locate him. He was about 18 miles SSW—3 miles southwest of Canyon, MN. He was about a half mile from a farm house and a few hundred yards from a vacant hunting shack. This was as close to civilization as we had found him. Had the landowners seen him? We looked up the owners and called both. The farmer hadn’t seen him, and the hunter said he wouldn’t shoot him.

His travels were not over. In his final 9 days, he traveled another 37 miles WSW and was killed about 20 miles north of McGregor, MN—83 miles southwest of his birthplace and 120 miles southwest of his den near Prairie Portage in Canada. We wonder what he would have done next year, and where he might have finally settled. Would he ever have returned to his birthplace from so far away?

Happier Things

We can’t believe the creativity of this amazing group of Lily fans. The 38 posters that 9 of you have created to support making it illegal to kill these radio-collared bears are fantastic. We wish we knew how to get them before the public to help.

The letters to editors we are seeing are clever, well-worded, heartfelt, and powerful. The newspapers to send them to are the Minneapolis Star Tribune, St Paul Pioneer Press, Duluth News Tribune, Mesabi Daily News, Timberjay, and Ely Echo.

Even though the MN DNR’s press release did not give one mention of Lily fans being the ones who voted $100,000 for Bear Head Lake State Park, the newspapers and magazine writers realized the truth. When no other Minnesota State Park got over 10,000 votes, and Yellowstone National Park got maybe 30,000 votes, it was either Lily fans or some kind of miracle that got an obscure park in northern Minnesota over one and a half million votes.

Your talent is emerging in the clever Black Bear Boxes that the Education Outreach team is creating.

Your talent and generosity are emerging in the clever fundraisers you are hosting for WRI this hunting season.

We were also surprised to see M&M’s that say ‘Lilys Hope’, ‘It’s me, bear’, and ‘NABC’ at the Bear Center.

Now your talent is showing in the decals, bumper stickers, and more.

We look forward to stopping by the Bear Center to see what treats are there from you. People begged to share the coconut cream pie you sent special for Lynn. He gave in. Judy McClure said it was the best coconut cream pie she ever tasted. Others showed their total weakness. Lynn loved it but was glad he shared so he wouldn’t gain any more weight.

Your votes have put Ely School District (Ely Esy) in first place in the Care2.com America’s School Spirit Challenge with 1245 votes. Second and third place have 137 and 108 votes respectively. Good going! Cast your vote at http://www.care2.com/schoolcontest/2704/054/.

Jo Bear

Today we did something about our weight problems by walking in difficult terrain for nearly 5 hours checking on Jo. The place where we speculated she might be denning turned out to be a bedding and feeding site. She was eating jewelweed (touch-me-not) plants that are growing on an old beaver dam and speckled alder leaves. Half-eaten plants and 3 piles of scat were evidence. Jo was a mile away resting with heart rates of only 52 and 49—the slowest we’ve measured this season. We turned her collar so she would resume sending GPS locations. Jo’s conspicuous ribbons that we put on her collar nearly a month ago are in as good shape as ever. There is no reason not to make it illegal to shoot radio-collared bears wearing these ribbons.

Juliet and Sharon, Shirley, and the Boy Name Sue.

Juliet had a heart rate of 62—slow for her, and we got the first heart rate under a hundred for any of the cubs. Shirley was 99.

June’s son Jordan (1¾)

We spotted Jordan, who knows us well from growing up with June, so we had him give us a heart rate. Yearling males are among the last to hibernate, and his heart rate was still at 84. He may have been a little excited, though, as he didn’t ignore the researcher pawing at him and kept trying to immobilize the offending hand and arm by standing on it. Jordan is a sweetheart.

We take heart rates as a measure of bears slowing down toward hibernation. Bears have different heart rates, just like people—usually between 80 and 95 for adults. Braveheart is usually around 74. As they slow down toward hibernation, heart rates drop in the 60’s and sometimes down into the 40’s as hibernation is near. June had a heart rate a couple years ago of 48 in her den.

We’ll be checking all the bears again when they enter their dens and we visit them to give them small, narrow collars that are better for curling up in a den. Changing collars for hibernation is part of our kinder, gentler research that is unique in the world. For anyone else, changing collars would require tranquilizing the bears, which we avoid.

This is the longest update on record, but we wanted to give Cal his due. He was a good bear. We appreciate his trust and the data he provided to help further our understanding of young males. Thank you, Cal.

Thank you for all you do.

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

Anne-Marie, thank you for all the updates and gorgeous pictures, I must confess to not following on FB, I hardly ever get on there so your updates are really appreciated and that was a mega update.

So very very sad at the unneccessary loss of Cal and sarah, two beautiful bears, it's not right, infact bear hunting is not right in my eyes at all. I hope they are resting peacefully they were both two very young bears as well, it breaks your heart doesn't it.

Rest in Peace Cal & Sarah

It is good to know though that the other bears including Lily and Hope are ok and that they are getting ready to den, that will hopefully help to keep them safe.

So they still think Lily is pregnant, how wonderful would that be and also interesting to follow after her and Hopes adventures.

Thanks again Anne-Marie, a good catch up apart from the news of Cal and sarah.

littlewid-x-

I'm so very against hunting of any kind!! I just don't understand the mind set of these people who do it. A poor defenceless animal

Here is the update from yesterday, another long one .. and poor Jo, I really hope she doesn't choose that den!!

Update September 22, 2010 – 8:16 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Thursday, 23 September 2010 at 04:37
Den Dilemma


Jo located in this rock den on Sept 22, 2010
We found Jo—the poster bear for sparing radio-collared bears—in a rock den this morning. Yesterday, we located her to fix her GPS unit so it would continue to send her location to our computer. Her heart rate was only 49, the slowest we’ve recorded this season. We thought she must be close to denning. At 6:44 PM last evening, her GPS readings stopped again. We believe that is when she entered a rock den uphill from where we met up with her.

Today, we documented something we’ve never seen before and never even considered. Jo was stuck in the den. She couldn’t get out.


Jo's hair on den entrance - Sept 22, 2010
The den is a jumble of boulders—some smooth, some jagged. To get in the den, Jo squeezed down past a jagged rock that took a patch of fur off her back. She probably had visited the den earlier this year when she was skinnier. Now, she squeezed in and down—helped by gravity—removing the patch of fur in the process. The fur was still on the outside of the rock. Coming back out was more than she could do. She didn’t have anything to grab onto outside the den, and she didn’t seem to have anything to push on from inside. By the time we watched her trying to get out, she had probably tried many times. The part of her back that rubbed the jagged rock was nearly bare. As we watched, she finally gave up and slid back into her den. We left in a quandary. Should we help? Could we help?

We were relieved when we got a lone signal from her GPS unit showing Jo had left the den. We checked. Somehow she managed to get out and was downhill from the den. If it’s that hard for her to get in and out of that den, she would have trouble raking bedding into it. She will likely have cubs. But without bedding, they would be lying on non-insulated ground. Later in the winter after she loses some weight, exiting would probably not be a problem, but that would be too late to rake in bedding for the cubs.


Jo with patch of fur missing - Sept 22, 2010
We’re now waiting to see if she goes back to that den or finds a more suitable one. This kind of problem has never been reported that we know of. If we hadn’t seen her struggle to get out of that den, we wouldn’t have had a clue why her fur was missing.

The other bears are foraging a bit and resting a lot. Braveheart has moved 2 miles away from the dug den she had been hanging around. Lily and Hope have begun a big move this evening. Juliet and her cubs have too. We’ll all learn together when they enter dens.

Many of you probably already saw the article about Cal in the St Paul Pioneer Press http://www.twincities.com/ci_16137598?nclick_check=1

We’re not sure how to respond to a couple of the statements in the article.

First, Dave Garshelis said that if our radio-collared bears were protected and his not, it would give the perception that ours were more important than his. We’d never thought of protection in that way. Dave wants to keep shooting radio-collared bears legal so he can get his radio-collars back from hunters. He needs the collars back because they cost thousands of dollars and they store a year of GPS data (and sometimes heart rate data). They need the collar to retrieve the data. For them, the main value is in the collar. So they just discourage hunters from shooting radio-collared bears.

That doesn’t work for us. We have vastly different research goals and methods. If the DNR wants to protect all radio-collared bears so none appear to be more important than the others, that’s fine with us. But the bottom line is that the radio-collared bears wearing ribbons in our study absolutely must be protected. The time has come. Asking hunters not to shoot them has not worked well enough.

How are the studies different? In the MN DNR study, the main value is in the collar. In our study, the value is totally in the bears we have spent countless hours cultivating trust. If one of those is killed, we can’t just go on with any bear. A loss is a devastating setback. Our study is about how bears live. It’s about ecology, behavior, and relationships. Recording data on those topics requires trusting bears that are completely comfortable with us being there recording data and taking video. The great thing about it all is that the bears ignore us. We are nothing to them. They don’t seek our company. They don’t think of us as food-givers other than a handful to start off a walk. But they don’t think of us as competitors. We are harmless entities to be ignored as they go about their lives. And that’s what makes the data so good for science.

It is also what makes the bears so good for education. Some of them will now ignore BBC camera crews making documentaries for millions to learn about bear life. Learning about real bear life is why you and we are captivated by these bears. They show us wild black bear behavior, relationships, and ecology that cannot be seen anywhere else. Most TV programs about bears use trained animal actors, tame bears, or wild bears attracted by bait. The bears don’t do natural foraging or interactions—especially where forest habitat is too dense to use long lenses. Filmmakers can’t spend the time we do getting black bears used to observers in dense forest. These research bears are incredibly special and must have better protection.

That lack of understanding is why we were disappointed to read the commissioner’s quote, saying "Rogers' research is not the sort of research we are going to protect. It's social research, it's about the social interactions between bears and humans. If that's going to happen, it has to happen with all the elements of society around it, and that includes hunting." We are hoping he will grant us a meeting and an opportunity to explain that hunting losses have no benefit in this research. We can’t study ecology, behavior, and relationships in dead bears and we can’t just switch to another bear and continue. Hunting losses tell us nothing. They just cause major setbacks, with some of the bears being irreplaceable in our lifetimes.

Concern was also expressed that the temporary ribbons we use can get torn off. The stiff duct tape ribbons we use are very durable. We also have enough contact with the research bears to replace or add ribbons if needed.

The rest of the article focused a lot on you, Lily fans, wondering if you could exert enough social pressure to create change and protection.

Thank you for all you do. This, and so much more.

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

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Thanks Anne-Marie. I will be glad when September is over and the bear hunting comes to an end. The trouble is we will have to go through it again next year or more to the point the bears will, I really wished it didn't have to happen, well it doesn't have to happen does it, its just cruel.

Poor Jo, i'm so relieved she managed to get out of that den and yes I too hope she dens somewhere else, it wont be good for any cubs in there without the appropriate bedding to keep them warm.

tried to look at the pics but my pc not connecting at the moment with that server so will look again later.

Roll on October when all the bears will be safe again.

littlewid-x-

No good news on the hunting ban why on earth would they feel hunting is good for research! I really do not understand!!

Update September 23, 2010 – 8:45 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Friday, 24 September 2010 at 03:05
Suspense


Lily with dirt on her back - Sept 23, 2010
The bears are keeping us in suspense. When will they den? They rest. They check out dens, and they move on—except for June who has been in her den for over a week.

After Jo finally struggled out of her den yesterday, she went down the hill and contemplated for a day. She decided not to go back. About 5 PM, she headed away into a roadless area where placing a den cam would be difficult. By 7:43 PM, she was ¾ of a mile into it with miles to go to the next road.

Braveheart spent a couple days around the den she showed Sue on June 30th and then moved over 2 miles away from it for a couple days. Now, she is nearly halfway back toward the den. We’ll see what happens overnight.

Ursula and Juliet have us guessing where they might settle. Both are in the vicinity of where they have denned in the past.


Lily and Hope - Sept 23, 2010
Lily and Hope are likely making a den. When we visited them today, Lily looked like a brown bear with all the soil in her fur on her back. She has had to be in a den and digging to get that much soil down in her fur. Tomorrow might be exciting news on these two.

Disappointing quotes from Commissioner Holsten were in the newspaper yesterday and on Duluth Channel 6 tonight. He sounded negative about making it illegal to hunt our radio-collared bears. He lumped our research with the DNR and made a blanket statement that shouldn’t apply to ours, like hunting adds data. Not to our study. We are studying how bears live, not how they die. Having a hunter shoot a radio-collared bear in our study is only a setback. Nothing is gained. Much is lost. We haven’t gotten a direct response from him yet.

The letters you are sending to the Governor and to your legislators are great. All the legislators (state senators and state representatives) are up for re-election this year, plus the governor. We hope all the elected officials—including the new governor—will favor protection of for radio-collared bears wearing ribbons in central St. Louis County.

Thank you for all you do. Something just came up that requires an email right now. More tomorrow.

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=7314500&fbid=472771960498&op=1&view=all&subj=10150091010754478&aid=-1&auser=0&oid=10150091010754478&id=263755115498

Thanks for the update Anne-Marie - so much going on

Lai

When you look at that photo Anne-Marie it makes it even harder to understand how people want to shoot them, I for one just cant comprehend it. As you so rightly say, what research comes out of killing bears, you shoot, they die, we know that, what a waste. The ber centre is doing such great work and are these bears risking anyones lives, no they are not they are just living their lives, as they should be allowed to. I just wish they would all hurry up and get in their dens and be safe for another year, June is a very sensible bear.

Thanks for the update Anne-Marie, I really appreciate it as i don't get on FB hardly ever. I know I keep saying that but I want you to know how much I do appreciate your posts.

littlewid-x-

Its no problem at all LW. I'm just sorry I wasn't able to update so quickly over the last few weeks!

Anyway, Lily has dug a den! Fingers crossed they will be in their ASAP!! I love the way they call Hope the untouchable one!!! Hehe!!

Update September 24, 2010 – 3:49 PM CDTby Lily the Black Bear on Friday, 24 September 2010 at 23:03
Lily has a den!





Lynn Rogers at Lily's den - Sept 24, 2010Lily has a den, and she dug it herself. It’s big enough for Hope too. The picture tells the story. In the foreground, rocks and big chunks of wood, soaked by the rain, show how hard she worked. The size of the den shows how hard she worked. It’s no wonder we found them resting in an alder thicket. It’s too early to know for sure that Lily and Hope will use this den, but it looks promising. The den is fairly accessible, although probably not close enough to electricity and telephone to make it as convenient as last year. Whatever the effort and expense required, we must get a den cam into their den to document the unprecedented observations we will likely make this winter. Why do people as old as we are keep doing research? This is one of the reasons.





Lily & Hope - Sept 24, 2010Lily’s heart rate was only 66, but the untouchable one’s heart rate remains a mystery. Little Hope did let us briefly check her collar, and there’s still room to grow. We put it on so loose, we wondered if it would stay on. It turned out to be just right.



The color of the dirt in Lily’s fur yesterday gave us a clue where to look for the den, and finally, there it was maybe 150 yards from where Lily and Hope were resting. Once we got in the vicinity, all the new dirt covering a 10 by 12-foot area in front of it stood out. Lily’s next step should be to rake bedding into it. Hope might help her with that, and we hope to get video. That will actually be an emotional moment to see them making a den together after all their ups and downs. Sue has to capture it on video to show Lynn because he’s going off to his daughter’s wedding in Louisville, Colorado, through September 29. So much is happening every day.



On protection for radio-collared bears, things are happening behind the scenes now. The two main things we want are (1) Protection for radio-collared bears wearing bright ribbons in the study area in central St. Louis County. If the DNR wants to protect radio-collared bears statewide, that is fine, too. (2) To accomplish protection in a way that will achieve unity on this issue between hunters and non-hunters and between us and the DNR.



Both hunters and non-hunters are calling for protection, and we want to work with the DNR as a partner. We have always wanted that. We have seen mis-statements in the media by some of the people involved, and we aren’t responding. Truth and right will win in the end, and there is a lot of time between now and the next hunting season.



On the other hand, we have seen such wonderful, thoughtful statements and analyses by some of you that we are extremely happy to part of this growing force for bears. The talent and heart that drives Lily fans is leading to something big. And the group will grow.



We were asked about the radio-collars. As part of our kinder and gentler research, we made several changes in the collars over the years. To make them more comfortable, we made them narrower and beveled the edges. We have examined some of the big GPS collars available and do not use them. We also add a piece of material that rots over time and allows the collars to fall off if we don’t replace the material from time to time. As you know, all of this is made easier on the bears by using trust and treats instead of traps and tranquilizers. In many studies, radio-collared bears go 6-12 months between checks for tightness. Adjusting the collars would require capture and sedation—often with darts. In this project, we check the collars on every visit and easily adjust them by giving the bear a handful of nuts.



Two reasons we seldom put radio-collars on males is that (1) many mature males have necks bigger than their heads, and we’d have to put the collars on more tightly than we are willing to do, and (2) young males of dispersal age might travel so far we’d have to use our entire budget for airplane rental to find them.



So the male side of black bear life still holds a lot of mysteries. Most leave the study area as yearlings, but some remain until they are 2 or 3. So, if we see yearlings still here in late summer, we give them radio-collars to learn where they den in relation to their mothers and sisters. As soon as they den up, we go remove their radio-collars.



That’s what we did with Cal. He nicely came to the den entrance and let us remove his radio-collar as a yearling. The next spring, he apparently left the area as we expected a 2-year-old would do. Surprisingly, he reappeared in August. Maybe he had settled nearby. By that time, we had new GPS technology that would reveal which direction he travels from the study area. Knowing the direction greatly reduces the cost of flying to find him at his den. He went 30-36 miles northeast into Canada where flight restrictions would make further study difficult. We found his den for under $1,000 and removed his radio-collar. We thought that was the last we’d see him. We said our goodbyes and thanked him for revealing a bit more about black bear life.



We didn’t realize the story was just beginning. The following spring—this spring (May 8, 2010), he reappeared in the study area. Could it be he didn’t settle in Canada? We gave him a new radio-collar. We watched his GPS signals on the computer as he traveled some 40 miles south! He hadn’t settled in Canada. On May 17, we visited him in his new digs to the south, checked his collar, and changed his GPS batteries. When those batteries expired at the end of May, our attempts to hook up with him failed. On August 25, we flew to home in on his telemetry signal. He had moved only another 18 miles, and we considered removing his radio-collar when we planned to visit him at this den in October. Nine days later (September 3, 2010), he was killed 37 miles farther southwest. He was within 20 miles of McGregor, MN. He wasn’t done yet. We would have loved to radio-track him another year. Where would he finally settle? Would he return to the study area from 83 miles away? Would he visit the area where he’d denned in Canada 130 miles northeast?



As it was, he provided the most detailed information on the travels of a juvenile male we have ever obtained. The data makes us wonder how far other males might travel between visits to the study area. Some of those visits are years apart. For males young enough to have skinny necks, there is a story to be told using the new GPS technology. If the DNR would protect radio-collared bears statewide—not just in our small study area—that would help protect these males as well as the females in the small study area.



Thank you for all you are doing on so many fronts.



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

It make me really sad to read about Cal! He had so much to give!!

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https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?pid=7320130&fbid=473092550498&op=1&view=all&subj=10150091381444478&aid=-1&auser=0&oid=10150091381444478&id=263755115498

It makes me sad too Anne-Marie it was such a waste of a very special life. But at least by reading about him he wont be forgotten, not that I think he will be for a moment

I am so pleased Lily has dug a den for her and the Untouchable , lets hope they den down soon and stay safe. I think that name suits Hope in so many ways and I am sure it also means survivor

clicked the links for the pics but couldnt view them so will try again tomorrow. Din't apologise about late updates Anne-Marie, it's lovely you do them for us

littlewid-x-

Its great to catch up with Lily & Hope thanks AM. I also cannot understand what Hunters get out of killing Animals. If they have become a danger to people then yes something must be done about it, but the Bear was not harming anyone. Lets hope the protection scheme works for these lovely Animals
Here the Pics if you cant get on LW




WS

Thanks for the update and photos WS and Anne-Marie

I though for a moment that was a photo of you checking out the den WS

Lai

By the look of the trouble he's having straightening up Lai you could be right, although his hair's alot greyer than mine. There again there's alot more of it
WS

Thank you so much for putting up those pictures WS, they are really gorgeous and so colourful, the pic of Lily and Hope is so sweet. I just couldn't get those pics up so i really do appreciate that WS

Another lovely update Anne-Marie, thank you I love the fact that Lily is being so choosey over her new den. I wonder if this is because they suspect she is pregnant and she needs a den big enough for her and Hope and the new little cub. I really hope that when she does den she chooses one near electricity etc so they can get a web cam in again, they were woried on the other report it may be a little too far out for a cam. I'm keeping my fingers crossed we get to see them in the den again this year and hopefully see a new little cub being born.

littlewid-x-