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Honey and First Bear Visit - UPDATE April 23, 2016
23 April 2016
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Eli by Flashlight
Eli by Flashlight
Scott came in on his day off to check on his favorite bear along with Curator Sharon and the staff and volunteers. Opinions varied between ?no change? and ?slight improvement.? We?ll see what the veterinarians say on Monday.
Looking at the weight losses of each of the four bears this past winter, compared with the winter before, a telltale number is the average pounds lost per day.
Honey lost 0.6 pound per day each winter. Her consistency makes it hard to explain why Ted lost 0.9 pound per day this past winter and only 0.5 the winter before, but it could mean he will walk a little easier this spring.
Lucky and Holly denned separately two winters ago and together this past season. Lucky lost only 0.4 pound per day denned alone and 0.5 pound per day denned with Holly. We have been wondering what playful Holly?s weight loss would be for this past winter of activity versus her winter alone the year before. This past season, she lost 0.4 pound per day compared with only half that, 0.2 pound per day, when she was alone last winter and much smaller. Percent loss tells a more accurate story for her. She lost 28.34% this past active winter and 24.18% the lone winter before that.
White-throated sparrow
White-throated sparrow
The data is confounded a bit by different dates of weights between the two years and the unknown of how much they ate in fall after being weighed.
About 6:50 PM, I saw my first bear here, but it disappeared before the camera was able to focus. It was a lone bear with a light muzzle. About 9:10 PM, it was back. We got a partial picture to match up with catalog pictures. We believe from its face, size, and actions that it is Lily?s 3-year-old son Eli who we all watched doing the "Beary Go Round" in their den in 2013.
Eli or another might have been here last night. This afternoon, a neighbor friend whose dog ventures down our driveway to check things out went into barking with raised hackles. The owner said that means ?bear.?
After the rain stopped this evening, the pretty white-striped morph of the white-throated sparrow was here long enough for a picture, but in low light.
This morning, I had the joy of meeting the new Bear Educator class at the Bear Center?19 volunteers including some new and some from last year, many of which have been through Black Bear Field Courses. What a great, knowledgeable group. Some of these are part of what led many people to shake my hand in Ely and say what a wonderful, friendly time they had at the Bear Center/Ecology Hall. I know some of the new participants from Bear Courses, and they will be more of the same. All I can say is thank you and feel grateful how people are stepping up to support our mission for bears.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
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Topic: Jewel and her cubs (Read 2361302 times)