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Tasha, Holly, Kimani - UPDATE August 18, 2016
18 August 2016
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On Tasha?s outing today, she and Holly ended up in Tasha?s pen where a Lily Fan captured some of the action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVZ6mdgR1Yk.Kimani and cub
Kimani and cub
It was all play, sometimes vigorous. It reminds me of Ted and Lucky?s early play. Little Lucky was a bit intimidated when they first started playing. Ted was probably 7-10 times bigger than him, but Lucky kept coming back for more, and he became trusting faster than we expected. Soon, he was letting himself get in vulnerable positions on his back under Ted. Eventually, Ted was letting little Lucky push him over. The crowds loved it?ooing and aahing. Ted and Lucky were buds. They put on the best play shows we?ve ever seen, there or in the wild. We didn?t worry about Lucky. He was the only one of the three (Ted, Honey, and Lucky) who could climb a tree, which he did for the first two months he was out with them.
We were prepared to be more cautious with Holly, but it was soon obvious they were becoming friends through the hold between their dens and through the fence that separated them. Holly was cautious. Then she showed that she was warming up to Lucky. They became friends that wanted to play together and be together. That was especially obvious last winter when Holly abandoned all the work she had done to make a den and went and snuggled into Lucky?s den where they expended extra energy playing and bonding through the winter.
Kimari's cub
Kimani's cub
Tasha came on the scene. Lucky and Holly didn?t know what to think. Bears express uncertainty by lunging and slapping, which both did. Tasha was afraid. She clacked her teeth and got as high on the fence as she could go. She was not uncertain. She was just afraid. Eventually Holly and Tasha made overtures?tentatively touching noses, and even tongues, through the fence. Holly was not a threat. Ted was not a threat, either; and Tasha seemed to know it. Ted makes friendly sounds and is not aggressive beyond wanting to get close to be friends. Tasha has not had a chance to be face to face with Ted without a fence between. The pen design makes that difficult to achieve. There is no door between their pens.
But Tasha and Holly are making great progress. When we saw that they had the right attitudes, we let it happen. Holly is about a hundred pounds heavier than Tasha, so Holly can dominate in play. That can be intimidating to Tasha, who would probably like to develop their relationship in smaller doses, but she is drawn to Holly and keeps coming back like Lucky did to Ted.
We are learning from the bears. We wondered how two females would get along. Females are territorial in the wild. But social relations in the wild vary with food supply. Territorial females and male rivals can integrate into relatively peaceful hierarchies where food is consistently abundant. We?ll see how things go with Tasha, Holly, and Lucky. For now, we?re keeping Lucky out of the mix until we feel more confident about his reactions. All of his body language so far has expressed uncertainty?not outright aggression. We think the three of them will turn out okay. We hope Tasha can get to know Ted who has a harder time keeping up with the youngsters as he becomes less mobile with age.
Samantha's cub snoozing
Samantha's cub snoozing
Ted spends a lot of time resting. Sometimes he doesn?t want to get up. But then he sees a situation or a person he dearly wants to be near, and he makes an endearing effort to come and show affection with his grunts and tongue-clicks and other body language. I hope Tasha experiences some of that.
Out the window, we have 9 cubs with three mothers?Samantha with her four, Colleen with her three, and Kimani with her two. Sometimes the litters mix together and get to know each other through cautious play. This morning before dawn, one of Samantha?s cubs was sleeping on the railing next to the white pine Lily Fans helped top last year. The other cubs were sleeping high up in white pines. One of Kimani?s cubs showed its distinctive blaze as it descended to start the day. Later, Kimani?s other cub sought the ultimate in security while it ate sunflower seeds. On this 80-degree day, mothers periodically left their cubs with us while they went off for swims in the lake.
Hummingbird
Rube-throated hummingbird
As we get to know the bears, we can see more and more how this community has come to accept bears like they have over the past 50+ years of feeding. Residents with a heart for wildlife found a way to coexist more peacefully with black bears than any community I know. It?s a joy to get talking with a resident and find that he or she knows more about bears from firsthand experience than anyone I know who has learned about bears in other ways. The same can be said for Lily Fans who have watched and followed the bears all these years. Sharing that special knowledge and feeling is part of what makes gatherings of Lily Fans so satisfying?as was the time here the last several days with such knowledgeable and caring people.
A Nature Note: Ruby-throated hummingbirds, mostly females and juveniles, are increasing in number at the feeders as families get ready to migrate in less than a month.
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 2447753 times)