With temperatures 55-60 degrees warmer than the minus 20 weather not long ago, the cubs were content to be exposed. Hope took full advantage of the situation, sometimes having both cubs by her rather than by Lily. Hope played gently. Even when she took a cub’s head in her mouth, the cub did not protest. What appeared to be a bit rough to us obviously was not a concern to the cub. It reminded us of Lily playing with Hope last winter. It is hard for us humans to realize those clumsy-looking paws and claws can be so gentle. It was hard to choose just which bits to include in this 10-mins video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K293UxXj78o
The light-colored male with the light face spent the most time with Hope. When Lily checked on him in Hope’s arms, Hope pawed her away. Not to be deterred, Lily shortly began pulling the cub back to her while Hope hung onto one of the forelegs. Lily won the tug-of-war without a squawk from the cub, and the cub ended up back with her.
Hope wasn’t done with her little playmate. She reached between Lily’s legs and licked and pawed the cub. A couple minutes later, Lily had enough. She made a quick lunge, a throaty sound, and hit Hope with her teeth. It wasn’t a bite. Hope didn’t squawk but immediately yawned, probably to dissipate tension. Within a half minute, Hope bawled and began to nurse. The video clip ends with all three nursing together with “their motors running.”
This is all so fascinating for us to watch. We’re aware that this truly is a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity. There will be other den cams, but the chance of another den cam on a mixed-age litter is nil.
Another video. It’s pretty conclusive. The dark-faced cub is a female, and the light-faced one is a male. Here is a quick shot of the female http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkthxhsHK9s. With gender nearly 100% certain, we soon can stop calling the cubs by their colors. It’s time to name them. Team Bear will begin the Official Cub Naming Contest at 11 AM EST on Thursday, February 17 for ALL of Lily’s online fans. Stay tuned for Team Bear's details of the Contest.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
Get our daily updates via RSS
WRI Daily Updates