Thank you very much for sharing this video. It seems to be a worthwhile program, but I have a question: how does Mama Bear react when she recovers from her snooze and discovers the scent of human on her cub?
As I wrote before, they are very young and strongly bonded with mama that the human scent - albeit temporary - won't lead to rejection. The wildlife biologists assured us of this. All good! They wouldn't allow us to cuddle them if it had detrimental effects.
True - it wouldn't be allowed, for sure. but I was wondering what Mama's reaction was. Confused? Perplexed at the scent? Ho-hum? I didn't think she would reject them, as their maternal instinct is strong, but maybe drag them to the creek for a quick bath? Also, does Mama continue to bear new cubs the next season?
I saw the cub was tagged. Does FWS continue to monitor him throughout his life? Was he (or she) the only cub in the den? Don't bears usually have multiple cubs in one litter?
I know...lots of questions. Maybe weave the answers into a follow-up post?
Yes, the tags generally stay put for years. DNR monitors bears very closely. They get funding from excise taxes, under Pittman-Robertson (as I mention and frequently write about). It's not open season. This is all done VERY carefully. And they are microchipped - in the event the tags fall off or they are later harvested once mature.
Thank you very much for sharing this video. It seems to be a worthwhile program, but I have a question: how does Mama Bear react when she recovers from her snooze and discovers the scent of human on her cub?
As I wrote before, they are very young and strongly bonded with mama that the human scent - albeit temporary - won't lead to rejection. The wildlife biologists assured us of this. All good! They wouldn't allow us to cuddle them if it had detrimental effects.
True - it wouldn't be allowed, for sure. but I was wondering what Mama's reaction was. Confused? Perplexed at the scent? Ho-hum? I didn't think she would reject them, as their maternal instinct is strong, but maybe drag them to the creek for a quick bath? Also, does Mama continue to bear new cubs the next season?
I saw the cub was tagged. Does FWS continue to monitor him throughout his life? Was he (or she) the only cub in the den? Don't bears usually have multiple cubs in one litter?
I know...lots of questions. Maybe weave the answers into a follow-up post?
Yes, the tags generally stay put for years. DNR monitors bears very closely. They get funding from excise taxes, under Pittman-Robertson (as I mention and frequently write about). It's not open season. This is all done VERY carefully. And they are microchipped - in the event the tags fall off or they are later harvested once mature.