Update II - May 31, 2010 – 11:20 PM CDT
Today at 9:49pm
Drama in the Woods

Lynn handed off the previous update to me just before I headed out to bring Hope her first formula made from the fresh goat’s milk. I wanted to get out to her before dark so I figured the update could wait. I located Lily and Hope at a large aspen tree where they were bedded.

I gave Lily a few nuts to keep her busy while I fed Hope. Hope loved the new formula! She also ate all of the cottage cheese—though I think she was really looking for more of the grapes I had mixed in it.

When Lily finished the nuts she roamed around a bit while Hope was finishing up. Then suddenly Lily came rushing back to the bed tree grunting in concern. Hope leapt for the tree and climbed high. Lily stood up against the tree grunting and looking off into the woods. We were not alone.

At first I wondered if there was a person walking along a nearby trail, and then I heard the grunting of another bear. We think of grunting as a friendly sound – but Lily seemed frightened. I could see another bear approaching in the growing darkness. It was a collared bear but I could not see well enough to identify it. I ran through a few frequencies on the telemetry receiver and found it was Lily’s mother June. Lily ran off huffing.

June followed Lily – still grunting. I could hear thrashing of brush and huffing. I monitored their signals as the strength of both decreased as the bears moved away.

I stayed near Hope’s tree, waiting for Lily to return. When I realized that wasn’t going to happen any time soon, I picked my way out of the woods in the dark and headed back to the field station.

As I write this (11:20 PM) Lily is resting nearly a mile away from the Hope’s tree. June is resting 0.35 miles from Lily and 0.63 miles from Hope. I am thankful for the GPS units that give me these locations.

Hope is alone once more. What does this all mean?

There are those reading this that will condemn me for not staying near Hope’s tree. Suffice it to say that I did what I thought best at the time. I can better monitor Lily and June from here. I feel Hope is safe as long as she stays in the tree. Hope is in an area this time that she is very familiar with – unlike last time when she was left in a totally unfamiliar area. Fortunately Hope had eaten quite a bit before Grandma June showed up.

The rollercoaster ride continues for us all. We could all use a break, but it just doesn’t let up.

— Sue Mansfield, Biologist, North American Bear Center

June 1, 2010 - 7:30 AM
I returned to the tree Hope was in last night -- but she is no longer there. Hope has gone missing again. Hopefully she will remain in the general area so we can find her. -- SM

Quote by: jwnix

June 1, 2010 - 7:30 AM
I returned to the tree Hope was in last night -- but she is no longer there. Hope has gone missing again. Hopefully she will remain in the general area so we can find her. -- SM

OMG.. and what in heaven is going on in the bear' world ? :blink:

one possible answer to your hypothetical question, M, is that humans are involved in the daily activities of these bears!!! and I am fully aware that is not a popular response.

June 1, 2010 - 3:44 PM
Still no sign of Hope. Lily traveled a considerable distance away but is now headed in the general direction of the area she left Hope. We are holding our breath -- hoping Lily will return and locate Hope. -- SM

Update June 1, 2010 – 10:00 PM CDT
Today at 8:42pm
Why?

We don’t understand it. We’re all learning together.

It’s 9:15 PM, and we just finished searching around each of the three trees Lily and Hope used yesterday and the places they spent most of their spring. Sue searched most of these places this morning, too. We are desperate to find Hope. She is wet from the rain. Her skinny muscles cannot make much heat, and the temperature is dropping—now 52. Temperatures were in the 70’s when she was lost before. If she makes it through this night, she will be very weak tomorrow. We’ll keep looking. We haven’t given up.

We’re trying to understand the minds of these bears. And we’re wondering how much of this is truly unusual and how much is due to our methods revealing more than we could see before.

In the earlier crisis (May 21), was it abnormal for Lily to be away 2 days before returning to where she left Hope, or was it abnormal for Hope to have left the tree where Lily safely left her? Lily still had milk when she returned to look for Hope on May 23, but Hope was gone.

Why did Lily leave for 2 days that time? Is she a bear that reacts more strongly to other bears being around? Is that why she remained in such small areas near secure refuge trees this spring, often spending entire days in areas less than 50 yards diameter?

In her earlier departure from Hope, it is likely a bear prompted her movement. Last night, it certainly was a bear that prompted her movement. Sue was there and saw it. Hope scampered high into a tree as an intruding bear approached. Although the intruding bear (June, Lily’s mother) was non-threatening—even friendly—from her sounds, Lily was scared. She huffed and moved a mile away.

That in itself was not abandoning Hope. Black bear mothers typically flee from danger, leaving their cubs to climb trees to safety. A difference between black bears and some other bears is that black bear cubs run to trees for safety while other bear cubs run away or to their mothers for safety.

This morning, after finding Hope missing, Sue visited Lily to assess her demeanor and look for any possible injuries. Lily was scared, unusually attentive to unidentified sounds. She was easily startled and frequently started up trees. Lily ignored Sue, of course. Sue is a trusted part of the woodwork. Was Lily worried that June was still around? June had followed Lily when Lily left Hope and the data suggest that they had another encounter this morning at Lily’s bed site a mile from Hope. June then moved nearly a mile southeast, leaving Lily nervous and skittish.

Why did Lily then move a mile north instead of returning east to Hope? Does her lack of milk reduce her urgency to return to Hope? When Lily is with Hope, she nurses her, plays with her, and keeps an eye out for her. Lily seems to truly enjoy Hope.

This past 24 hours is difficult to explain. We are at a loss.

We’re documenting Lily’s and Hope’s behavior. In the future, we’ll obtain detailed comparative data from other mothers with cubs and share that. We’re all learning together.
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—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, North American Bear Center

Hope is alive! She has been spotted, but not yet captured. We are on our way with the food and a cage. Keep your fingers crossed!50 minutes ago

Lily the Black Bear
We've put food at the base of several trees nearby that Lily and Hope have bedded at in the past. No more sign of Hope. Crafty cub. -- SM33 minutes ago