“So much fun!”

 

It is satisfying to listen to the sounds from the den.  Strong, healthy cries from the cubs tell Lily what to do, and she responds.  The few plaintive tones from Hope and the few times she nurses now, compared with before the births, show she is not stealing too much milk.  With both Hope and the cubs nursing, Lily won’t be ovulating because of too little nursing this year.

 

 

The Den Cam is making a difference for bears around the world.  Teacher Caroline Soesbee wrote, “We celebrated Hope's first birthday and the arrival of the cubs in our class today at snack time. So much fun!”

 

 

Teacher Michelle Sedberry, a new member of the Education Outreach Team wrote, “We are all so excited about Lily and her new babies.  The kiddos in our district are so excited about our growing family of bears. The live cam is on in nearly every classroom I walk into.  This is such an amazing thing for our school children.”  Michelle was not yet a member of the Education Outreach Team when we posted their names and pictures in the December 19 update.   In that group picture, a nice picture of another member, Editor Lisa Boesen, did not include her last name.  We’ll get everything right eventually.

 

 

Karen Gilbert introduced her second grade classroom to Lily and Hope at the beginning of the school year to prepare them for the den cam. They celebrated Hope’s first birthday with snacks of nuts, berries, and gummy ‘bugs.’

 

NorthlandsNewsCenter (Channel 6) in Duluth mentioned Lily and Hope today at http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/local/114494789.html

At this time last year, we were just developing the Den-watch Team to record minute by minute observations around the clock.  This year, it is already in operation.  Many thanks to everyone involved.

Thank you, too, for putting the Bear Center over another major milestone.  About 4 PM today, with challenges, donations, and angels stepping forward, the debt was reduced to under $100,000.  Each milestone like this sharpens the focus on what the Bear Center can do for bears in the future.  At the same time, what you all are doing right now to spark public interest in bears is one of the most powerful things that has ever happened for bear education.

Thank you so much for all you are doing for bears.

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