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Bear News and More on Ted (From Sharon Herrell) - UPDATE September 27, 2020
27 September 2020
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This week's bear news includes Ted's retirement, Holly denning and Lucky isn't happy Holly is denning.
Scott Spencer
Scott and Spencer
This past week, Scott surprised us with his dedication of Ted's log. Spencer and Scott carved Ted's name into a new ?preaching? log. The diligence and work performed by these two was amazing. After it was finished, Cindy (Ted's mom) me, Dr. Rogers, Donna and Scott all signed it.
Ted's retirement cake (made by Cindy) was completely made of fruit and nuts and he ate everything! He then took a nice nap in the brief amount of sun before the rain started. The consensus of the day was that everyone had fun including our online viewers. We can only apologize for the weather and network problems; most of our cell phones were down so no one could send pictures until later in the day.
As of this writing we are pretty sure Holly is done for the season. I kind of predicted an early hibernation but didn't think Holly would oblige. As it is, she has been in the dug den for 9 days without leaving except to rake in some weeds and slap at Lucky's curiosity.
Lucky is having a hard time dealing with Holly's denning. He checks on her every day and she slaps at him every day. He is truly pouting. When he's in the Cabin den, he approaches Tasha but she bluff charges him. Lucky just can't get a break with the females.
Holly
Holly
Lucky
Lucky
Tasha
Tasha
Our Tasha was out briefly last week and sat on the rock den. Energy levels are low, as action at this time of the year drops. She is currently still in her enclosure but it's our conclusion that she and Holly have to come to terms with denning in dug dens.
I want to thank all who helped make Ted's retirement day special. His mom Cindy, Dr. Rogers and Donna, Scott, Spencer, Carter, Carolyn (for the log) Mary, Heidi, Missy, Deb, John, and our interns, Emily and Tatum.
Ted's Retirement
Ted's Retirement
Ted wanted me to also thank all his faithful and loving followers that shared their love by writing him retirement notes, best wishes and poems. On his behalf of Ted, I thank you. I just never got around to teaching the bears to read and write. :-)
With all the excitement centered around our wonderful ambassador bear, Ted. I almost forgot to add my comments.
To Ted bear:
Baby Ted
Baby Ted
Ted you arrived in Ely on an evening of rain and storms in late April. The boxed cages that you and Honey arrived in were huge. When I was finally able to meet you, I was astounded at your size but gentle nature.
One of the first things you did after you investigated your large bunker den and the walk around the area, you stepped outside and broke a balsam tree and took it inside the bunker area placing it neatly against the entrance of the bunker. With assistance from Dr. Rogers and a few others you came down to the viewing area. One of your first acquaintances was Dr. Hanson, (Chip) from the Ely Veterinary Clinic, you were standing on the rock den and Dr. Rogers took a picture of you and Chip. Chip has it displayed in one of his many office rooms at the clinic.
One of my favorite events was when I had to massage balm into Ted's pads.
Ted was lying on his back with his feet propped against a tree behind the falls. He was resting as I approached, he did his little woot-woot sounds to acknowledge me. I had grapes in my pocket because you never work with a bear unless you feed the end that bites. Me, new to the bears for only a few weeks had to be aware of things happening. What I didn't realize is that a large black cherry had found its way into my pocket with the grapes. I proceeded to rub his paws and feed one grape at a time. At one point the black cherry went into his mouth. He immediately yanked his paw away and glared at me. It scared me, I didn't know if I had hurt him or what I had done. He looked at me intensely. I said, "Ted, what's wrong? he still glared at me but not so intense now. He rolled the cherry around in his mouth as if to say, "what the heck did you put in my mouth?. I noticed and immediately made a chewing motion to him, indicating it was okay to eat it, it was good. He obliged by crunching it and the look on his face was one of delight. I again began to rub his pads. He again jerked his paw away and looked at me. His eyes focused between my face and my hand. I thought to myself, you've got to be kidding. I put my hand in front of his mouth and he spat the pit into my hand. It was the funniest thing that had ever happened to me. I was laughing so hard. I finished his front pads and went into the center to report what he had done. This story lives on in my memory.
Ted
Ted
Ted
Through the 13 years that I have had the privilege of working with our bears I've learned volumes. Facial expressions, vocalizations, behaviors, personality differences, body language, signs of illness, likes and dislikes of food and people, the look of their eyes, eyes tell stories. This small list doesn't match the intensity of knowing our bears.
Ted
Ted
Ted
The education each bear gives, along with Dr. Rogers courses and biology lectures culminate in me, the true nature of bears and their ultimate care.
TedTed, you are my special friend. An excellent teacher, ambassador bear and a truly loved member of the North American Bear Center family. It is with great honor we celebrate your excellence and a well-deserved retirement.
Sharon Herrell, Sr. Bearkeeper
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