Winds of Change

The wind brought us the unusually warm weather we’ve been enjoying this week, and the wind took it away. Sure was nice while it lasted. We’re back to single-digit seasonal temps. However, the days are noticeably longer and it sure feels good to be on the ‘back side’ of winter.

Even at 4 weeks of age we’re noticing differences in Lily’s cubs. The male seems noisier and more visible in the den. His nursing hum is deeper than and not as squeaky as the female’s. We caught more play in the den today (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoXHA-8iulY)—both between Lily and Hope and between Hope and the male cub. The cubs’ nervous systems are not well developed yet, so their movements are jerky and uncoordinated. Yet it certainly seems as though the male cub is engaging in play, or at least tolerating Hope’s manhandling (cubhandling?) when he’s capable of crawling away. What is it we’re seeing? Will this apparent bond between Hope and the male cub persist beyond the den? We’re anxious to learn more in the days and months ahead. We’re so fortunate to have this opportunity to observe a rare mixed-age litter.

When we put the den cam in Ted and Lucky’s den and asked for volunteer den-watchers, we thought Ted and Lucky's inactivity would serve as a contrast to life in Lily’s den. However, we’ve been pleasantly surprised. Ted and Lucky have snuggled, stolen bedding from one another, played, and even had a few spats! We are still looking for volunteers to help record their activity. If you’d like to try your hand at coding your observations of their activity, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Educational Outreach materials are online, being used by teachers, and getting good reviews. Helen Schwarz used the ‘ABC of Black Bears’ with her kindergarten class in Nassau, NY and surprised us with this picture! Actually, her class worked to create ALL the letters of the alphabet. The images are priceless. In her words “Children will voluntarily engage in learning sound-symbol relationships when they are actively involved in the learning process. The ABC's of Black Bears, http://www.bear.org/website/images/stories/education-outreach/resources/ABCs_100dpi.pdf, inspired this project!”

Team Bear’s ‘Name the Cubs Contest’ is in full swing. There is still time to submit your name choices. Contest rules are at http://www.bear.org/website/images/stories/cub-contest/CUB_NAMING_CONTEST.pdf. Each person can send suggestions for one male name and one female name to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it until 11:00 AM Eastern Time Saturday. Winning names will be announced Monday night!

Lynn is spending a few days with family and has left me to ‘mind the store.’ Seems he took my “While the cat’s away…” comment seriously. He called several times while in route to his destination just to make sure I was still working. Darn.

Thank you for all you do.

—Sue Mansfield, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center