edited update from this morning

– January 26, 2010 10:02 AM CST

Nearly a foot of heavy snow fell on the Ely, Minnesota area yesterday and branches are bent to the ground under the weight—providing fresh browse for white-tailed deer and snowshoe hare. Lights flickered for many in the area during the storm. The power interruptions knocked out the den cam signal, but we got it going again this morning. The equipment is in a garage about 200 feet from the den. The garage is over a steep hill from the den so we can access the equipment without disturbing Lily. We want to see—and we want you to see—what she does free of human disturbance.

At this moment (10:02 AM), it is 5 below zero (F), so it’s no wonder snow is clinging to Lily’s fur. I’m sure the little one will protest if Lily lets any drafts under her today.

Attached are 2 pictures of very young cubs. Sylvia Dolson of Get Bear Smart Society found one on the internet labeled ‘day old cub.’ It very well may be a day old because there is no hair growing on its ears yet. The other picture is of a 2-week old cub showing its wide tongue and mouth designed for sucking. The eyes are still shut, of course. Lily’s cub is 4 days old today.
day-old cub (not Lily's cub!)
2-week-old cub (not Lily's cub!)

We wonder how many of Lily’s 6 nipples the cub is using. Usually, each cub in a litter establishes ownership of only a couple nipples, but this cub is free to roam.

Many of you have suggested some great names and some great ideas for name contests to raise money for the North American Bear Center. We hope to have word out soon on our decision regarding the naming process.

Learning the cub’s sex is hard. Usually we don’t find that out until we can join the families away from the dens in spring. It’s possible we can spot the sex on the video when the cub becomes more active in March and April.

Three other radio-collared bears (Donna, Juliet, and Cookie) should have cubs by now, and we hope to get out soon to listen to and count the cub voices coming from their dens. We have been kept busy by the flurry of activity surrounding the huge success of the Lily Den Cam and the recent storm complicates visiting dens in remote areas. We are lucky Lily is near enough to electricity and telephone for us all to see.


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

link to the page, to see the pictures http://www.facebook.com/notes/lily-the- ... 477?ref=mf

9:22pm lightly snowing
bear shifting around a bit, as cub is grunting, crying out

I'm new here. I've been on the bear website from Ely for a couple years. I follow all the bears, saw them come out of hibernation last March. Now Lily...what a joy to have been able to see her give birth, now follow each day the adorable sounds of the cub and see what a great mom Lily is. We have black bear around here often in the spring and summer. I love to see them. Looking forward to reading everything on this great site and forum

Lila Rose Welcome to the Hancock Wildlife forum.

Watching Lily give birth was AMAZING ! I can't wait until we get a chance to see her cub.

Thanks for the welcome Oh yes, wont it be great to see that cutie cub the first time. We'll all be so excited! Do you think in about a month it will be moving about?

Quote by: Lila Rose

I'm new here. I've been on the bear website from Ely for a couple years. I follow all the bears, saw them come out of hibernation last March. Now Lily...what a joy to have been able to see her give birth, now follow each day the adorable sounds of the cub and see what a great mom Lily is. We have black bear around here often in the spring and summer. I love to see them. Looking forward to reading everything on this great site and forum

Hi!! it's nice to meet you! If you have stories you can tell us about the other bears and their history and relationships we'd love to hear them. Lily is the greatest! I love our eagles dearly but I am so excited to keep an eye on the progress of Lily and her cub.

If you have any questions or need help with the forum, don't hesitate to ask. Someone will help you or get you the help you need.

Cheers!!

Terry

Update – January 27, 2010 4:52 PM CST


The temperature outside this morning was -9F. Temperatures inside dens are the same as outside unless snow closes the entrances, in which case den temperatures rise to that of the soil. Lily’s big entrance will remain open.

There is only one warm place in the den—the space between Lily’s sparsely furred underside and the bedding. With her head tucked under her chest, her breath warms that small space while her legs form walls to contain the heat. Re-breathing the air reduces loss of heat and moisture.

Lily gets water from fat metabolism and hydrates the cub with her milk. Some mothers also eat snow. In Native American legend, Manitou sends snow in January, the Bear Moon, for mothers to wash newborn cubs.

It’s time to name Lily’s cub. We saw the great suggestions you had for the t-shirt and need more of that creativity for a name.

We’re looking for a name that reflects what Lily and the cub are doing for bears. They’ve stolen hearts and become ambassadors for bears. Watching Lily gather bedding before the birth and then go directly from the pain of labor to mothering the cub has been an epiphany for many. She has literally changed lives. In a world of strife and disaster, the den represents a peaceful place where a wild mother can devote herself to her cub.

Lily has a gentle, trusting spirit. Her trust of researchers made this unprecedented window into the wild possible. Lily is giving many people their first look at how real bears differ from the ferocious images of the media and taxidermy. Her gentle nature has drawn people in and made them want to learn more. This, in turn, makes people more willing to coexist with bears. Lily and her cub represent hope.

We’re looking for a unisex name that in some way reflects this. Please send your ideas to namethecub@bear.org.

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

I submitted a bunch of names for both a girl and boy....we shall see if any of mine get picked