Lily has been pretty active licking, rolling into a ball, unrolling like she can't get comfy, She had the cam strap out for a while & played with it. As long as she doesn't think it's food. Seemsd to try to sleep but stirs

2:14 Central time:

Lily the Black Bear Lily's head is right in front of the camera and the muscles on top of her head appear to be flexing -- this would mean she is clenching her teeth -- this could possibly be it!

heads up from Lily's facebook page!!

2:36 Lily left the den. nice clear view of the empty den with the strap she had taken from the camera in the bedding

Some pictures of Lily ~~ as Judy said she is straining and flexing her muscles ~~



Bev .

2:40 empty den




2:44 she's just outside of camera view....triangle of hair in the bottom left corner


2:46 crawled back into the den

great screencaps!

2:46 Lily is back in the den, pawing in the bedding and in a sitting/squatting position

Clearing a spot

excerpts from new updates from lynn rogers:


Lily the Black Bear Lily is back resting in the den. We believe labor has begun and this is just a lull in it's progress.
30 minutes ago

We anxiously watch this new change in Lily's behavior! This is new. She appears to be straining. The muscles on her head and back of her neck are flexing. We can't see into the den -- but the flexing of those muscles gives us a clue to what is happening.
about an hour ago


Lily's head is right in front of the camera and the muscles on top of her head appear to be flexing -- this would mean she is clenching her teeth -- this could possibly be it!
about an hour ago

Bear is eating snow!
about an hour ago
Update – January 21, 1:53 PM ET

Tension builds. Tomorrow is the day I wagered Lily will give birth.

Actually, we’re all crossing our fingers she will have cubs at all at 3 when only 10 of 14 her age have done so in our study. We’re encouraged, though, by her activity. It shows she has energy. She is not in the deep hibernation that let’s blood oxygen fall too low to support fast-growing fetal tissue. She had the weight in fall to maintain a higher metabolism through winter and possibly have cubs. She is bringing cedar and fir boughs into the den for more bedding, probably getting them from the trees just outside her den where the camera is attached. Is she trying to get everything just right in the den before she has to lie inside all the time to keep cubs warm?

We listen for cub sounds. The team is trying to get rid of the buzz so all can hear better. To answer a common question, the light is invisible infra-red. The camera converts it to visible light for us to see on the internet, but it does not illuminate the den. On the other hand, darkness is not important to hibernation. Many bears build above ground nests and spend the winter in broad daylight. Some get covered by snow at times, but they give birth and raise cubs successfully anyway.

To know what she does outside, we are torn between leaving her undisturbed or visiting the site to collect any droppings and see where her tracks go. There is talk of adding a camera outside so we all can see what she does and what the family will do when they begin venturing outside in spring.

The den location is secret. The few people who know are keeping quiet so no one disturbs her.

We are pleased that interest in this rare window into the hidden world of bears is spreading. The goal of the North American Bear Center is to educate everyone. Bears can teach us all directly like Lily is doing. A couple hunting websites, ESPN and Outdoor Life, are hosting the den cam so their audiences to learn from Lily, and we salute the thousands of troops watching from overseas.

<edited>

Visits to the North American Bear Center website at www.bear.org have grown from 2000 a day to over 100,000 per day thanks to Lily! Changes are being made now to accommodate the additional traffic we expect to get in the days ahead.

< edited>
At this moment, Lily is restless. The little movements in her abdomen make me wonder if cubs are moving inside her, or if it’s just my hopefulness.—Lynn Rogers, Ph.D.

From Lily's Twitter page

Lily is back resting in the den. We believe labor has begun and this is just a lull in it's progress.