Black Bears - Minnesota / Lily

[Kinderchick]

Very interesting article about black bears on the NABC website yesterday...

http://www.bearstudy.org/website/research/daily-updates/1483-education-education-education-.html

[Kinderchick]

According to the website, a scouting expedition occured today, to check out Lily's den for Den Cam purposes. Apparently Lily & Faith have settled into a rock den that is 7 feet down under. Now that should be an interesting time, trying to set up a Den Cam.

[Kinderchick]

According to the website, Lily and Faith have finally begun to build a stronger bond after Hope's death. They moved into a rock den together this morning. Here is a beautiful video that was captured yesterday, prior to them moving into their den...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFlrXzWDko0

[Kinderchick]

Posted from the website Sept. 26, 2011

Hope and hunting...
As we come to grips with the loss of Hope, we are mainly thankful for her life. She brought people together to learn about black bears. She was part of the biggest worldwide bear education project we know. She has changed the attitudes of thousands, perhaps millions, through the internet and documentaries. Her death is a tragedy. There is so much more we all could have learned. Her death is a blow to science, education, the region, and us, including all of you. But it is not the end. It is a hurdle. We’ll all continue to do the best we can with what is left...

They are, however, still waiting to hear from the DNR, to see if Hope was registered by the hunter who may have killed her. For the complete article, go to the following link...

http://www.bearstudy.org/website/research/daily-updates/1404-hope-hunting-and-the-media-.html

[Kinderchick]

Thanks for the lovely quote by Khalil Gibran, susha. How very true. And you are probably right, that there is likely little possibility that Hope is still alive. But I will continue to hold out hope, until I hear differently.

[susha]

I fear that there is little possibility that Hope is alive, but researchers remind us of Khalil Gibran's quote: “When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.”

So many Lily and Hope fans have watched and loved the adventures of this young bear and it would be beyond great if it turns out that the hunter didn't get her...

[Kinderchick]

Terrible news on the website.  Hope has been shot by a hunter.  

No, Elaine, this hasn't been absolutely verified yet. I just read through the most recent blog on the website and they don't yet know for sure that this has happened. Although a hunter has admitted to baiting in the area that Lily & her family were in, it has not been verified that Hope was shot. They are waiting to hear from the DNR, which won't happen till Monday, at the earliest. Oh, how I hope and pray that it wasn't Hope. That would be such a great loss to many people around the world, including many school children, not to mention black bear research.

Here is a little bit from the website...

"Hope was/is special. If she really is gone, we can say that she had so much more to teach. We wonder how Faith feels with her buddy gone. We wonder how Lily feels. After her hormone problems were resolved, she became a devoted mother again, playing, nursing, and looking out for Hope as well as Faith. She gave up food for herself to let Hope and Faith have it. Now she has no choice but to move on without Hope, and we guess that is all we can do, too. We want to believe she is okay somewhere and maintain a glimmer of hope. But the email from the hunter made that hope very slim. It’s true she wasn’t collared, but we had hoped that Hope’s story would play out. We had more to learn from her."

[susha]

Such sad, sad, tragic news.  I don't understand how hunting bears using bait can be legal.

[Elaine L]

Terrible news on the website.  Hope has been shot by a hunter.  

[Kinderchick]

Yes, according to the website, they continue to worry about her disappearance. They have wondered if she is perhaps becoming a little more independent of her mother, Lily, as is her half-sister, Faith, or if she has gone off to get her den ready, since she began to move into den construction mode a few weeks ago. But they are doubtful that either of these are plausible explanations. The difficulty is that while they have tried to fit her with a radio collar, she has refused to wear it, so they have only been able to track her whereabouts through her mother, Lily's movements.

[Elaine L]

Checked the North American Bear Centre's website this morning.  Still no news of Hope.  This is very worrisome.

[susha]

Oh no.  Such concerning news!  I don't think that the Lily and Hope fans around the world could stand it if Hope was lost

[Kinderchick]

Read this on the daily website blog today. Sure do hope that Hope will be found, safe and sound...

"Hope is missing. When we saw only Lily and Faith last evening, it didn’t seem right, but it wasn’t the first time one of the trio was out of sight. However, our concern made us check them this morning. We found Lily and Faith but no sign of Hope. Someone saw a lone yearling at a distance, but we can think of 4 other yearlings it could be. The local bear registration station has not registered a bear since before Saturday, according to the DNR.

We’re trying not to think of the huge loss this would be to all of us and to science. We’ve jumped to conclusions before and been wrong. Earlier this year, we couldn’t get Cookie’s and Colleen’s telemetry signals from the ground or from an airplane and thought the worst until they showed up.

We’re on edge and want the relief of knowing Hope is okay. You’re all feeling the same, we’re sure.  We’re putting out feelers for more information. "

[Kinderchick]

Thanks for letting me know, dodobird. I thought it might be Lucky, but wasn't sure. I've never seen Ted, though, except in his den in the winter. I guess these last few posts are in the wrong thread then.  

[dodobird]

Kinderchick, that would be Lucky - he is very playful.
I watch when I can and usually see Ted pontificating from his log - he sits facing the log and looks like he is giving a lecture - fun to watch.