Lily, the Black bear Cam

[MAK]

  Sadly unfortunate! 

[Kris G.]

Mini Update September 27, 2011 - 2:00 PM CD.

by Lily the Black Bear on Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 3:12pm
.
Facts come in

 We never received confirmation from the MN DNR, but early this morning we heard directly from the hunter who killed Hope.  We appreciate him contacting us.  This is what we know.

Hope was killed on the evening of Friday the 16th.  She came into his bait site alone and the hunter had no clue it was Hope.  The hunter is known to us and has cooperated with us in the past.  He would never shoot a collared bear and would not have deliberately shot Hope.  He also is not a member of the ‘Bounty’ page and has never posted there.

 There has been some confusion due to the fact we posted on Sept 17th that the family was fine.  We, in fact, did not see Hope or Faith on the 17th.  Sue found Lily alone and changed her GPS.  Lily walked away grunting and tongue-clicking.  We assumed Hope and Faith were together nearby (which is often the case) and Lily was going to them.  We had no reason to believe otherwise.  Sorry for any confusion this caused.

 Please respect our desire to keep the hunter’s name confidential.  Attacks on him or hunters in general will only serve to undermine our potential for future research and education.  We will provide another update later today with additional information.

 Please be kind and supportive to each other as we all work through this.

 â€”Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
 
No matter what he said, he was cornered and had to confess and I'll always believe he knew who he killed.  I'm heartbroken. 

[Donna]

 

[MAK]

    Say it ain't so!   

[jeanne]

I am so sad.  Poor little one

[Kris G.]

Update September 27, 2011 – 4:24 PM CDT
by Lily the Black Bear on Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 9:12pm
Facts and Feelings
 
The wait is over.  The hoped for confirmation from the DNR never came, but the hunter who shot Hope came forward to provide us with some facts via email.  The hunter said he shot a yearling female at his bait the evening of Friday September 16.  She was alone and he had no clue it was Hope.  We know the hunter and he has been cooperative and helpful in the past.  He would never shoot a collared bear—and he would not have deliberately shot Hope.   
 
Here is the chain of events.  Hope was last seen with Lily and Faith at 7:05 PM on September 14 at one of the dozen feeding stations in the community.  Residents of this community have been feeding bears since 1961.  As a result, there are no bad food years here and bear problems run 80% below the state average.  In this year of scarce wild food, the feeding stations were especially important in keeping bears out of trouble.
 
The hunters’ bait was 1200 to 1600 yards from the 3 feeding stations Lily and her family have visited this fall between excursions to forage for scarce wild foods.  About 4 PM on September 15, Lily and family found the hunter’s bait.  The next afternoon, September 16, the family returned to the area and bedded 165 yards away.  In the evening, Hope was the one that got up and went to the bait first.  We believe the hunter when he said Hope came to his bait alone. 
 
Most bears taken in the hunt are 1-2 years old so the fact he shot a yearling is not unusual.  He is not a trophy hunter, but shoots smaller bears for the quality of their meat.  And he eats what he kills.  He also is not a member of the ‘Lily: A bear with a bounty’ page and has never posted there.
 
Unfortunately, our update of September 17 said we had visited Lily and family.  In fact, we did not see Hope or Faith on the 17th.  Sue found Lily alone and changed her GPS unit.  When Lily walked away grunting and tongue-clicking—the contact vocalizations mothers make to their cubs—we assumed Hope and Faith were nearby.  We had no reason to believe otherwise.  We are sorry for any confusion this caused.  We are human and make mistakes. 
 
In retrospect, there may have been clues we missed.  Lily was not her usual self when Sue met up with her on the 17th.  She allowed Sue to change her GPS unit but didn’t stay around to finish the nuts.  Sue chocked Lily’s behavior up to the lethargy we see in bears at this time of year.  They’re slowing down in preparation for denning.  Mothers slow down long before their cubs and their cubs often roam without them.  That was Hope’s undoing.  It is possible Lily’s apparent lethargy may have been her response to the sudden loss of Hope.
 
Another clue was Faith’s peculiar reaction when we checked on Lily’s family September 21—the day after the picture of Lily and Faith walking on the road.  As we approached, Faith moved away rather than towards us like she usually does.  She seemed less confident without big sister Hope around.
 
Where do we go from here?  It’s an emotional time for all of us.  At first it’s tears.  Then it’s anger and a search for why.  Then a sense of loss sets in.  We appreciate your support through all of this.  It’s a time to come together, and we’re glad to have many old Lily fans gathering together with us.
 
Please respect our desire to keep the hunter’s name confidential.  Attacks on him or hunters in general will only serve to undermine our potential for future research and education. 
 
Thank you for all you do.
 
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

[Annette]

Poor Hope!

[Bobbie Ireland]

Hard to read that update, Kris. They call this "hunting"!? Bait a site near the study zone. Sit there. Wait for bear to amble by. Kill it. Very sporting.

[nycbird]

Some one should get the word out that Minnesota needs Supermarkets with meat departments
like we have in the rest of our great country.  It is nice the hunter eats what he kills, but the
question I ask, is it necessary for him to kill to eat????

[Donna]

Some one should get the word out that Minnesota needs Supermarkets with meat departments
like we have in the rest of our great country.  It is nice the hunter eats what he kills, but the
question I ask, is it necessary for him to kill to eat????

A very good question nyc! They actually don't hunt, they just bait, sit and wait. I just feel so bad for Hope. Lily must miss her awful and little Faith also. Imagine the den if Hope made it through, Lily, Hope, Faith and possibly 2 more over the Winter! Seems they all loved each other very much.

[Kris G.]

Hard to read that update, Kris. They call this "hunting"!? Bait a site near the study zone. Sit there. Wait for bear to amble by. Kill it. Very sporting.

Dr. Lynn Rogers is a researcher who has been studying Black Bears for 40+ yrs :

The DNR asked Lynn to write the initial bear hunting regulations.  Lynn made the hunt as humane as possible.  Bear hunting was reduced from 52 weeks to 6.  There would be no spring season that orphans cubs that are totally dependent on their mothers.  Rifles would not include .22’s that are more likely to wound bears than kill them.  Lynn rightly viewed wounding loss as the biggest problem in bear hunting.  To reduce that problem, he introduced the controversial practice of baiting.   With baiting, a bear would offer a humane, killing shot.  Granted, baiting can hardly be considered sporting, but a well placed shot means a quick kill with minimal suffering.

 The number of bears killed can be controlled by season length and number of hunting licenses.  The way the bears are killed should be the most humane possible.  Wounding loss increases when “sportâ€� is introduced in bear hunting, like stalking bears and taking fleeting shots at bears running away or using inadequate weapons.  Wounding loss increases the number of bears killed.  When a hunter wounds a bear, the hunter continues hunting until he shoots a bear dead and tags it.  Meanwhile, how many of the wounded bears die in addition to the recorded kill?  With baiting, a bear approaches a bait in an open area and the camouflaged hunter in his tree stand can quietly wait for a killing shot.  Killing shots reduce the number of bears killed.

 

[Donna]

http://www.startribune.com/sports/outdoors/blogs/130748523.html A Hunter Admits to Killing Hope the Black Bear

WOW!!!

Thank you Kris again for this!

[MAK]