9:22 female moving around a bit, cub making soft contented sounds

Please, no more names! Nearly 300 people have suggested names since we posted the update -- any many suggested multiple names! Again we are overwhelmed by your interest and support! Now we begin the work of sorting through them....

Hi Terry,

We love Eagles too. We live near the river and we see one there quite often. When we're out driving we often see them too. They are so beautiful!

The bears at the center are Ted, Honey and Lucky. Lucky is the youngest born in 2007. Ted and Honey came to the center together in 2007. Ted is possibly the biggest black bear on record. When they got him it was estimated that he weighed 950 to 1000 lbs. Hes trimmed down to about 800 lbs. Honey weighs around 500 lbs. I'm not sure Luckys weight? Theres a live cam near a pond and you can watch them swim. They have a contest to see who spots them first coming out of hibernation. I sat glued to the computer last March. Did get to see Lucky emerge on March 5th I believe it was. I'm excited because the center wants to put cams in all of the bears dens for next winter. Each bear has its own page on bear.org where you can read about them.

Cant wait to see Lilys cub and hear the name they choose.

This was posted on Lily"s fb page. I think it speaks for most of us women. I couldn't stop laughing,

"In this life I'm a woman. In my next life, I'd like to come back as a bear. When you're a bear, you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for six months. I could deal with that. Before you hibernate, you're supposed to eat yourself stupid. I could deal with that, too. When you're a female bear, you birth your chil...dren (who are the size of walnuts) while you're sleeping and wake to partially grown, cute cuddly cubs. I could definitely deal with that. If you're a mama bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them too. I could deal with that. If you're a bear, your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling. He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat. Yup...gonna be a bear"

Hello! Thanks to everyone who have posted the updates!

Eiguoc- Now that is just too funny!! I'll be printing that one off.

Is it just me or is that dreadful hum gone on the cam? That is fantastic! Now we'll be able to clearly hear all the cubs sounds!! Looking forward to finding out the cubs name.



Oops maybe I spoke to soon. Went back and the hum is still there, my volume wasn't working briefly. Still amazing to watch and the cub sure is vocal right now!

Update January 28, 2010 2:47 PM CST

17 below and all’s well in the den.

In the research cabin, our hearts are warmed by your tremendous response to the name quest. Clever, thoughtful names—over a thousand of them. Good names for this and other cubs in the study. We’ll let the names sink in for a day and come up with one.

Also, we read your comments with the names and read the wonderful comments you are leaving with the donations. We have friends out there. Kindred spirits. People who share our thoughts and desires. Thank you so much for the donations and the encouragement. There is so much we want to do.

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

12:55 am all is quiet in the den

from the FB page:

Lynn McCormick Ingram Price There were a few cubbie sightings thru the night and earlier this morning as well. You can view these sightings in the archives at the following #'s:
15:51 Yest.'s date
17:11 Yest.'s date (this is the one where Lily fluffs the bedding for cubbie)
00:17 today's date
05:03 today's date
08:01 today's date
The archives are avail...able ONLY on:

http://www.wildearth.tv/static/wildeart ... r_den.html

Once on that site, the icon tab is on the bottom, last one on right. It looks like files, or someone said it looks like spoons.
More info on this, under discussion, topic cub sightings. I haven't watched some of them yet; wanted to share the times with everyone first. Enjoy!

Update January 29, 2010 8:19 PM CST
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Today at 9:03pm
Today, at one week of age, we had hoped to name the cub, thanks to all your help. Now, it’s looking better to wait a bit. So his or her name is cub for the moment.

To answer a question in Facebook: Lily and her cub will likely leave their den in mid-April. We plan to write updates about Lily and the cub all summer until they enter a den again next fall. We know what Lily and the cub mean to everyone, as they do to us, and we won’t let you down. If Lily and the cub are cooperative enough to den near utilities again, we will insert another den cam next winter. There is so much we all can learn with your help. We appreciate how many of you have volunteered to record minute by minute behaviors. Two people are covering each 2-hour period around the clock daily.

As we write updates on Lily and her cub this spring, summer, and fall, the BBC will be making three documentaries of them—one for each season. The BBC (and we) will also be documenting Lily’s relationship with her mother June. I suspect that if the following for these bears is large enough, the BBC would come back in spring 2011 to film another season. That season would include Lily and the yearling emerging from their den in April and the two going their separate ways in late spring as Lily finds a mate and the yearling becomes independent. We hope the cub/yearling is a female so she will stay in the area for long-term study. Males often move far away after they become independent. If the cub is a female, we will document her continued relationship with Lily after family break-up, just as we are documenting Lily’s relationship with June. All are part of a clan we’ve been studying for five generations. The matriarch is 20-year-old Shadow, Lily’s grandmother.

We hear your desire for Lily memorabilia and are in the process of getting mugs and mouse pads. We thank you so much for your contagious enthusiasm and much needed support.

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