Black Bear den cam with Ted and Lucky

[Kris G.]

14-year-old Ted and his friend Lucky (4) had other dens to choose from at the North American Bear Center near Ely, Minnesota, USA, but they chose to den together.

All summer, these two males played together in their 2 acre forest and pond. In November they worked together to rake leaves, moss, and grass into this den for bedding. Now, they mostly sleep - sometimes apart, sometimes snuggled up together. When sleeping apart, Ted has awakened and stolen some of Lucky's bedding. Later, when Lucky tries to steal it back, he makes a plaintive whine as if asking for permission from Ted, one of the largest black bears on record.


http://www.bear.org/livecams/ted-lucky-cam.html

[Donna]

Great story and a GREAT cam. Thanks Kris!!

[Kris G.]

Here's some more info on the two posted on the Bear study website:

Today, the Ted and Lucky Den Cam showed them playing in slow motion and later showed Ted calmly stealing Lucky’s bedding material while Lucky watched with no sign of concern.  He has seen that happen before, and he can steal it back when Ted is sleeping.  We love how these two buddies get along.  We are very glad we said yes when we got a call from a rehabilitation facility saying they were about to euthanize a cub but wondered if we could use another bear in the forested facility at the Bear Center.   The next day, we met the cub halfway and were off on a joyous journey of watching Ted and Lucky become friends and playmates.  Gentle Ted, one of the largest black bears on record, wanted to get close to little Lucky, but Lucky was scared.  It took from July to October for Lucky to give Ted a chance.  Since then, their raucous play has made audiences ooh, aah, and laugh.  Lucky has an especially playful personality—even with people.  Given half a chance in the enclosure, he likes to take people down and gnaw gently on them.  When he was a cub, he bit too hard during play.  Now, he can control his bite. 

[Donna]

Here's some more info on the two posted on the Bear study website:

Today, the Ted and Lucky Den Cam showed them playing in slow motion and later showed Ted calmly stealing Lucky’s bedding material while Lucky watched with no sign of concern.  He has seen that happen before, and he can steal it back when Ted is sleeping.  We love how these two buddies get along.  We are very glad we said yes when we got a call from a rehabilitation facility saying they were about to euthanize a cub but wondered if we could use another bear in the forested facility at the Bear Center.   The next day, we met the cub halfway and were off on a joyous journey of watching Ted and Lucky become friends and playmates.  Gentle Ted, one of the largest black bears on record, wanted to get close to little Lucky, but Lucky was scared.  It took from July to October for Lucky to give Ted a chance.  Since then, their raucous play has made audiences ooh, aah, and laugh.  Lucky has an especially playful personality—even with people.  Given half a chance in the enclosure, he likes to take people down and gnaw gently on them.  When he was a cub, he bit too hard during play.  Now, he can control his bite. 

It doesn't get any better than that!