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Tasha, RC, Sophie, Big Harry, Victor, Turtle - UPDATE June 30, 2016
30 June 2016
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Tasha is getting a mixed welcome from Ted, Lucky, and Holly. As Ted comes up to see her he makes friendly sounds. He probably would like to get to know her and play with Big Harry
Big Harry
her like he did with Lucky back in 2007 when Lucky was a cub. It took Lucky 2-3 months to accept and trust Ted. Then they were inseparable until Lucky matured and viewed Ted as a rival. If Ted and Tasha became buddies, there wouldn?t be any rivalry, just fun, we believe.
Victor
Victor
Lucky didn?t know what to make of Tasha at first and terrified her with a swat to the ground, but he is mellowing. Not so with Holly. With Honey gone, 3-year-old Holly seems to consider the enclosure her territory. It is the females that hold territories in the wild. She is not that friendly to Tasha, and Tasha knows that, as a Lily Fan captured in this five and a half minute video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keqgpD5hCjE.
RC and cub
RC and cub
That makes us hesitant to let Tasha out with Holly who is twice Tasha?s size. Tasha could climb a tree, but so could Holly. We?d like to move Tasha into the pen next to Ted so they could get to know each other through the fence. But moving Tasha isn?t easy. She wouldn?t likely follow staff to the pen. To do that, we?ll try to lure Tasha into the carrier cage that she arrived in and carry the cage into the new pen. That pen has many trees for her to climb if Holly comes close. However, that pen has no chain link roof. We?d have to count on the strand of electric wire to deter her from getting out of it. She probably rather climb the trees. When she learns to follow Sharon for food, we can begin letting her out to explore the large enclosure when we have Lucky and Holly in a pen. Deer in sunset
Deer in sunset
We believe Lucky and Holly would be okay together after some initial stress, so we could try penning up Holly and letting Tasha out with Lucky once Tasha knows the pen and some favorite climbing trees. Holly and Tasha could take turns being out with Lucky or Ted?especially after Ted and Tasha get to know each other through the fence. Friendships could unfold. Meanwhile, Tasha will be beefing up on good food to better hold her own against challenges by Holly?or Tasha and Holly can get to know each other through the fence and hopefully calm down.
During one of the many rain storms today, a large dead aspen snapped and fell in the enclosure. At the time, Lucky and Holly were up in their white pine and Ted and Tasha were in their dens.
Painted turtle laying eggs
Painted turtle laying eggs
In the wild, excitement grows. The neighborhood is talking about the beautiful cubs that RC showed up with these last three days. I?m told one has a white chest blaze perfectly shaped like a heart. Another has a blaze the shape of Ohio. The other has a smaller blaze. I haven?t seen them well yet. The best look I got was the quick picture of RC with one of the cubs descending from a tree just before they disappeared into the woods. Victor is back with his scarred-up face, and Big Harry is looking as great as always. I?ll be anxious to see Lily?s cubs in the spring to see if she combined her light nose genes with his similar genes. I would think they would have hooked up considering the location of her territory. The males are drifting in now with the waning of the mating season, although 3 days ago a female here mated with two different males and a possible third she was friendly with.
Sophie is doing well with her two cubs that haven?t posed for pictures yet.
Over the next couple weeks, we?ll likely learn the sexes of RC?s and Sophie?s cubs and begin thinking about names.
I had to snap the deer looking so red in the setting sun. And the painted turtle laying eggs told a story. Back on September 7, 2001, a bear dug up a chipmunk nest full of bear food it had stored. I remember the date because author Mark Elbroch was here as part of writing his masterful book (2003) ?Mammal Tracks and Sign: A Guide to North American Species,? and we took a picture of the bear sign for possible use in the book. The dirt has remained in place these 15 years until a couple days ago when this painted turtle selected it as the place to dig her nest.
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 2388373 times)