Daily Updates
Holly and Lucky Acting Wild, 2017 Calendar - UPDATE May 24, 2016
24 May 2016
Print Email
Just like wild bears are doing these days, Holly and Lucky broke down an aspen sapling and stripped the leaves. They did it where the PTZ camera could give a good view. Yearling
Yearling
 like herbivores have. Moose use their diastema to strip leaves off branches as they draw the branches sideways through it. Black bears use it the same way when eating young leaves in spring.?<br /><br />Hummingbird male<br />Hummingbird male<br />Curator Sharon Herrell has more pictures and stories about Ted, Lucky, and Holly, in her weekly Bear News article on the North American Bear Center Facebook page at<br />https://www.facebook.com/NorthAmericanBearCenter/posts/580352768801084.<br /><br />It is a beautiful day with little wind, nice clouds, and the temperature in the mid 70?s. The view is punctuated with chokecherry blossoms. If all the blossoms turn into cherries, it will be a good crop for the bears.<br /><br />Hummingbird at feeder<br />Hummingbird at feeder<br />The day started with a pair of yearlings, obviously on their own, moving quickly through the yard without pausing to eat. Yearlings usually separate from each other at family break-up, but not always. I didn?t get a good enough look to say who they are. I?d like to know to determine their sexes to better understand their sticking together. Yearling females tend to become competitors after family break-up because they will be vying for territories.<br /><br />Woods Lake<br />Woods Lake<br />June and her brother Willy paired up from time to time after family break-up back in 2002, as did Hazel and Willy, but June and Hazel were more at odds. Surprisingly, in a way, most of the yearlings that pair up to play after family break-up are not siblings. They are from different litters.<br /><br />This guardian male ruby-throated hummingbird perched 8 feet away did not give chase when this female came to the feeder.<br /><br />Chokecherry<br />Chokecherry<br />Linda Gibson did her usual great job on the 2017 Calendar?Bears of North America. Beautifully designed and full of information, she did an amazing job going through thousands of bear photographs buried in my files to select a variety to represent, black, polar, and brown/grizzly bears. The cover is Gerry, who Linda picked because she knew how close we were and how this bear is loved by my entire family. Living at Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina, Gerry is now 27 years old. Linda is not one to skimp on pictures?144 total. (Click here to see a full resolution sample page) The calendar carries a lot of memories for me. Each picture has a story behind it. Some are of the bears we all know, including the ambassador bears (plus their stories). Some hold other exciting memories from my time with brown bears and polar bears. But with all the time I?ve spent with these three species, I can say I have never felt truly threatened and have never had a serious problem. My only calendar ever, it will be a keepsake. Thank you Linda.<br /><br />You can purchase the 2017 Calendar in our gift shop at the NABC or online by clicking on this link: http://www.bear.org/website/gift-shop-pages/product/12187-2017-bears-of-north-america-calendar.html.<br /><br />Thank you all for all you do.<br /><br />Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center)
They knew it was good bear food even though they were not taught by a mother. I?ve never seen a better video of a bear stripping leaves like this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp739mLLqSs.
2017 Calendars now available
2017 Calendars

Bear.Org discusses this at
http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/basic-bear-facts/36-skull-of-a-black-bear.html, saying, ?The premolars are the four teeth behind each canine tooth. Usually the 2nd and 3rd premolars on the bottom jaw are missing, leaving a space (diastema) like herbivores have. Moose use their diastema to strip leaves off branches as they draw the branches sideways through it. Black bears use it the same way when eating young leaves in spring.?
Hummingbird male
Hummingbird male

Curator Sharon Herrell has more pictures and stories about Ted, Lucky, and Holly, in her weekly Bear News article on the North American Bear Center Facebook page at
https://www.facebook.com/NorthAmericanBearCenter/posts/580352768801084.
It is a beautiful day with little wind, nice clouds, and the temperature in the mid 70?s. The view is punctuated with chokecherry blossoms. If all the blossoms turn into cherries, it will be a good crop for the bears.
Hummingbird at feeder
Hummingbird at feeder

The day started with a pair of yearlings, obviously on their own, moving quickly through the yard without pausing to eat. Yearlings usually separate from each other at family break-up, but not always. I didn?t get a good enough look to say who they are. I?d like to know to determine their sexes to better understand their sticking together. Yearling females tend to become competitors after family break-up because they will be vying for territories.
Woods Lake
Woods Lake

June and her brother Willy paired up from time to time after family break-up back in 2002, as did Hazel and Willy, but June and Hazel were more at odds. Surprisingly, in a way, most of the yearlings that pair up to play after family break-up are not siblings. They are from different litters.
This guardian male ruby-throated hummingbird perched 8 feet away did not give chase when this female came to the feeder.
Chokecherry
Chokecherry

Linda Gibson did her usual great job on the 2017 Calendar?Bears of North America. Beautifully designed and full of information, she did an amazing job going through thousands of bear photographs buried in my files to select a variety to represent, black, polar, and brown/grizzly bears. The cover is Gerry, who Linda picked because she knew how close we were and how this bear is loved by my entire family. Living at Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina, Gerry is now 27 years old. Linda is not one to skimp on pictures?144 total. (Click here to see a full resolution sample page) The calendar carries a lot of memories for me. Each picture has a story behind it. Some are of the bears we all know, including the ambassador bears (plus their stories). Some hold other exciting memories from my time with brown bears and polar bears. But with all the time I?ve spent with these three species, I can say I have never felt truly threatened and have never had a serious problem. My only calendar ever, it will be a keepsake. Thank you Linda.
You can purchase the 2017 Calendar in our gift shop at the NABC or online by clicking on this link:
http://www.bear.org/website/gift-shop-pages/product/12187-2017-bears-of-north-america-calendar.html.
Thank you all for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center