I can only say that,after all the euphoria I am now very worried about Hope's condition.
I sincely wish that Dr. Lynn Rogers and Sue can continue to feed supplements to Hope until she is over the critical stage when she should be nursing.
( I don't know how long a mother Black Bear usually nurses her cubs ? )
I cannot see why ethical questions should come into this.. it is the life of a little creature that is in the balance.
Last season we found a nest of baby hedgehogs so tiny and their mother was dead. We found a 'Save Nature' group who would give us some help.. they decided we should bring the wee ones to their site. (unforunately they were not saved.. the mother had been poisened by anti-snail poison ) We intevened and unhappily we were not successful. We were able though to warn our neighbours about the use of this substance. So we learned from our intervention so small was it compared to the choice facing Dr.Rogers now.
I feel no regret whatsoever. On a different scale it is the same dilemma.
The little bear should be saved if it is humanly possible.
I see no difference.

Quote by: macdoum

I can only say that,after all the euphoria I am now very worried about Hope's condition.
I sincely wish that Dr. Lynn Rogers and Sue can continue to feed supplements to Hope until she is over the critical stage when she should be nursing.
( I don't know how long a mother Black Bear usually nurses her cubs ? )

Macdoum, I can tell you what we see with Louisiana black bears, which is a subspecies of the American black bear. Of course there will be some differences due to climate and environment. All of the human intervention is likely to have some behavioral implications with the bears in MN.

We normally see cubs foraging at 3 to 4 months of age, but they are still dependent on their mother's milk until about age 9 months. Female keeps cubs with her til ~18mos, at which point she evicts the males to go off on their own and find their own territory. The females are allowed to stay in the same general area as the female adult.

Lynn alluded to another of the "research bears" perhaps had expanded her territory to make room for the next generations of females.

Hope is doing much better this afternoon! More in tonight's update. -- SM
3 hours ago

Lynn alluded to another of the "research bears" perhaps had expanded her territory to make room for the next generations of females.

June (Lily's mom) who Dr. Rogers also knows, expanded her territory to make room for Lily and Hope. Hope is doing much better after yesterday's condensed milk feeding and 2 feedings today of a goat's milk based formula they gave her. Hope has a lot more energy today! They will continue these feedings as long as Hope wants them. She still nurses and they think she is getting some milk from Lily, as they ovserved milk below Lily's breast. Hopefully Lily's milk production will increase. They will watch for mastitis and treat for it if necessary.

edited post:
Update May 30, 2010 – 8:36 PM CDT
Share
Yesterday at 10:47pm
Hope Improves

Lily and Hope Play - May 30, 2010
What a wonderful resource Lily’s fans are! Again, you all pulled together and came up with good help. Many people came up with great suggestions and your outpouring of concern and offers of help have been heartwarming.

Among the suggestions was a formula that simulates high-fat bear milk. Nearly all the ingredients were available in this small town. We were at the store this morning when it opened to buy canned goat’s milk (and we may be able to get fresh goat’s milk eventually) plus heavy cream, egg yolks, plain yogurt, fish oil, calcium carbonate, Vitamin B complex, and Vitamin C.

We were all worried that Hope was too weak to follow Lily after what we saw yesterday. When we saw on the computer this morning that Lily had moved nearly four tenths of a mile, we wondered if Hope was with her. You can imagine our relief when a perkier Hope bounced into view behind her. Could the cup and a half of sweetened condensed milk last evening have made such a difference?

Lily came over, with shy Hope came cautiously behind. She saw the same container she drank from last night and timidly came up beside Lily to check it out. She loved the new formula!

We were immensely relieved to see the difference in Hope’s zip today. Last evening, she could barely support her weight climbing a short way up a tree. Today, a sound startled Hope and Lily and they both shot up a tree about 15 feet.

Hope and Lily Play - May 30, 2010
Hope was more improved on our second visit this afternoon. After drinking as much formula as she wanted, Hope followed Lily 30 feet away where Lily sat down in the nursing position and Hope nursed. She couldn’t have gotten much milk. Lily’s breasts are now smaller and mostly empty except for the hard lumps inside, but the fact they were trying and the fact a small amount of milk was visible, makes us hopeful Lily will increase lactation. We are hoping the lumps in her breasts don’t turn into mastitis. A helpful lactation specialist today figured the lumps were the result of plugged milk ducts, and this can sometimes turn into mastitis.

We are so much more optimistic. Yesterday Hope was lethargic—lying around moaning and whining. Today she was playful—interested in objects to manipulate and initiating play with Lily once again. She has life in her eyes and seems almost her old self, although emaciated.

We will continue to bring Hope formula a couple times a day to the extent possible as long as she needs it. Hope has a strong appetite. She has teeth and is beginning to eat solid wild foods, which is normal for her age. This cub is going to make it.
<edit>

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

From Lily the Black Bear's Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/lily.the.black.bear?ref=ts

Lily the Black Bear May 31, 2010 - 11:55 AM CST
This morning's visit to Lily and Hope went well. Hope was eager for the 'formula' we brought so she's likely not getting enough milk yet from Lily. However, she's still nursing and getting at least some milk from Lily. This bodes well for the future. Hopefully things will be back to normal soon. -- SM

Lily the Black Bear May 31, 2010 - 10:40 PM CDT
Tonight there will be 2 updates -- the one Lynn wrote earlier this evening and one I will write about the drama that occurred during this evenings visit to Lily and Hope. First will be posted soon. -- SM

Goat’s Milk Galore

Goat’s Milk Galore

May 31, 2010 – 8:07 PM CDT

Hope - May 30, 2010We are so relieved to see little Hope doing better. Thanks to you all for help.

Today, Hope got as much formula as she wanted plus grapes, banana chips, and Pedialyte. This morning, the formula was made with canned goat’s milk. This evening, it was made with fresh goat’s milk. A happy family from Wisconsin drove up hundreds of dollars worth of fresh and frozen goat’s milk for Hope—gallons of it. Enough for the duration. Still not as good as real bear milk, but as good as one can do. To the goat’s milk we add; heavy cream, egg yolks, fish oil, olive oil, plain yogurt, calcium carbonate, vitamins B and C. .

More food is coming, and Hope will be increasing her consumption of wild foods. Meal worms are on order plus herbs and hormones to unplug Lily’s milk ducts and stimulate lactation. Lily is being motherly, nurturing, and playful with Hope. Physically and behaviorally, she is not showing any sign of estrus. Each day we are more confident of the outcome. Our goal is to give Hope the best chance of life with Lily in the wild. The expert advice we are getting on rejuvenating Lily’s lactation is to give Hope the best food we can and enough of it to give her strength to nurse vigorously to maximally stimulate lactation. We are encouraged to see Hope take the formula and then nurse vigorously as the experts hoped. Even a little bear milk will make a difference in her health. Our goal is for Lily to again become the main source of nutrition. Today, I thought some of the lumps in Lily’s breasts were softer.

Thank you to the many experts who provided the latest data on dealing with this kind of crisis.

I can hear the critics who think we should have done nothing. That would have meant we would not have found Hope. The likelihood of them finding each other after 5 days apart was practically nil. Hope likely would have died alone and unseen. We wouldn’t have known if she were sick or simply starving.

If we did nothing, we would have learned practically nothing from her disappearance and death. There is much to learn from her life. We already have. And as time goes on, we are narrowing the possibilities of why Lily went on her walkabout.

Thank you for your contributions and help.

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