Cubbie complained loudly for a short time, all silent now. Mom continuing to get snow covered on her back, Lily is getting covered in snow. Wish her den was deeper

From North American Bear center
Will snow accumulate on a black bear's back?

Yes, snow accumulates on black bears at ambient temperatures below approximately 19 degrees Fahrenheit. The photo shows a 3-year-old female black bear in an open den. The temperature is 9 F (-13C). The last time it snowed was 6 days earlier. Her head is to the right, tucked under her chest to breathe on cubs that were born in mid-January. The bear knows and trusts the photographers and continued her care of the cubs for the picture.

Black bears have two kinds of fur on their back—visible guard hairs about 3 inches long and, in winter, a hidden layer of fine underfur so dense that water can scarcely penetrate it. The underfur is so insulative that bears in the open become covered with snow when ambient temperatures are colder than about 18 F (-8 C). The exact temperature at which snow accumulates varies with individuals. Some bears have longer, denser fur than others. Body temperature also varies from one bear to the next. During hibernation, fat bears usually maintain body temperatures between 95 and 99 F, while skinny bears reduce body temperatures to as low as 88 to ration fat.

eiguoc, thanks for that update.....when I looked for on their site, I also found this picture of another bear covered in snow....taken march, 2003. I was curious about the remark about the photographer in the above update---


Photo: Glenn & Nancy Krause
March 16, 2003

Lily even more snow covered, Will we even see her tomorrow

edited update:


Update – January 25, 2010 7:59 PM CT

A foot of heavy snow fell overnight, some of it piling up in the den entrance, some of it on Lily's back. Lily's main insulation is the fur on her back and sides. The fact that the snow didn't immediately melt is testimony to that insulation. Measurements we made on a bear some years back showed that snow would accumulate on its back at temperatures less than 18F. But the depth and thickness of pelts vary. June has a super pelt. Her guard hairs are about 4 inches long with dense underfur. Running my hand down her back, I was amazed at the cloud of fur. So I wasn't surprised this morning to see snow on her back despite a temperature of 30F. As she moved, some shook off, and it may have been slowly melting, too.

Thank you all for your tremendous response to our plea for volunteers to record observations of Lily and cub. Janet Dalton, who has been through our Black Bear Field Course and knows Lily, has volunteered to organize the responses for full coverage.
,,,,,,,,
Our goal is simply to educate. We realize people won't coexist with an animal they fear. The key is knowledge. We replace misconceptions with facts, and nobody can do that better than the bears themselves.

What makes our research different is that it’s based on trust. Trust is why Lily did not abandon her den when we placed the camera in it. Over the years, we have graduated to kinder and gentler research, and learned more and more as the bears allowed us to observe. Now, with Lily, we have thousands of observers. We are looking for opportunities for more of the same. You can see background on Lily in the upcoming documentary ‘Bearwalker of the Northwoods’ on Animal Planet in April.

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, North American Bear Center

This was posted on Monday by sizlean
on Lily's chat.

Video: Lily the Bear and her cub:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21uYMN1sVi4

"This is my first attempt at uploading a video. I wanted to capture Lily the Bear and her cub. I saw the cub this morning around 9:30 a.m. Eastern time and captured it on my computer. However, the recording system used on my laptop isn't recognized by Youtube. So, I recorded the part of the video that "mattered" with my iphone, emailed it to myself...and ta da...here it is. Please tell me that you are seeing what I see. In the middle of the pic, you will see the cub for a few seconds before Lily scoops her up....you'll see the little ears and hear her cry... "

Lily cam with chat:
http://www.pixcontroller.com/WebCam/BearDenWebCam.htm

"There appears to be a problem with either the power at the lodge where the streaming PC is located or a problem with the lodge's internet connection. We are trying to find the exact problem and then restore the broadcast as soon as possible.2 hours ago"

From a link on Her FB page
Lake Country Power line crews will work into the night to restore power outages near Ely, Winton and Cook.

Nearly 950 Lake Country Power members remain without power, due to Sunday’s heavy, wet snow and Monday’s winds, which have caused trees and limbs to snap onto power lines.

Wind speeds have been a major factor in outage restoration Monday.

Line crews reported poor road conditions also contributed to a challenging restoration process.

Major outages are expected to be restored overnight, and scattered outages will be restored Tuesday.

Nearly 1,500 co-op members have been affected by the weather-related outages that began Sunday afternoon.

11:09am
snow has ceased, and the bear no longer is covered with it, she appears to be quiely resting

cub sounds like a small motor, .... actively nursing??