Black Bear Sanctuary I

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So at the bear sanctuary in Minnesota now for two weeks and it’s been pretty slow for the most part; we’ve gotten some bears in, mostly a few moms with yearlings, a few have spring cubs that are very small and adorable. There have been a few big males coming in checking out the females, trying to get some chances to mate before the larger more dominant males come in. Alfie, the little bear from last year has yet to show up. He was a handful and they said last year toward the end of the summer they were using a cattle prod on him to negatively condition since he liked to follow people and play like he was a dog... so it would be interesting to see how he behaves if he does come back. My favourite bear, Cheeky, hasn’t showed up either; he usually makes a short appearance in May then disappears until July-August. The last day he was at the sanctuary last summer was opening day of hunting season, so who knows...

We’ve gotten some interesting volunteers, as usual. Two Swedish women- Therese and Terese, a girl also from NMU- Erin, then there is Jason from last year from Tech. Kevin, the chipmunk killer has shown up again for about 5 days to “rearrange the pole barn” which was useless moving TONS of food (literally thousands of pounds) from one area to another. He causes more harm than good as he is a wreckless driver and breaks about everything he touches. He is one of those boys where you can say “oh a light would be good to see in here...” just as a general observation, and he will devise a contraption with a metal coat hanger, car battery, forklift, poptart, and rubber band but warn you to watch for fires and beware of explosions... he was a character. He brought a friend with him, Sean, but after he was here a day and a half working with Kevin and they would both eat the bear food (which is Trail Mix and dried fruit off the factory floor, years expired and clearly labeled ‘not for human consumption’)... needless to say after less than 36 hours, Sean was very very ill and had to be picked up and taken home.

It’s basically the same story as last year. Drama among volunteers as everyone has different ideas what is best for the bears and the sanctuary as a whole. When i arrived i was put on re-doing many of the signs i had done last year since watercolor Crayola markers faded quickly. I was also sick with strep throat for a week taking antibiotics since i got here so i couldn’t do too much work outside without feeling exhausted and ill. So they kept me busy making signs and designing t-shirts for the volunteers and to sell in the gift shop.

We are on a day off today and went for a weekly shower at the cabin resort up the road. Later we plan on playing games and taking a dingy aluminum boat out in a flooded small swampy ‘lake’ and hopefully see some beavers again. The ledge above the door to my cabin has a bird nesting above it and she swooped down once and hit me in the head and attacked me again this morning.

Visitors begin coming this Saturday which i am definitely NOT looking forward to. Some of them are so annoying and dumb... i will probably be in the gift shop most the time, which is okay usually, but the woman in charge is a VERY slow counter so at the end of the night, rather than let me count up the till and deposit in 5-10 minutes, i have to watch her count one bill at a time, licking her fingers and yelling if there are any distractions. So she takes about 30 minutes to do.

And a story about a young bear (about two and half years old) was on a bear bed, on the bear beds we put rocks or logs for them to eat out of. The bear was eating off of one almost gone when i was doing my rounds to make sure enough food was out. He seemed a bit nervous of me and when i went to put more food down near him but then i hesitated and said to him “i was going to put food down for you but i don’t know who you are so i’m not going to put the food down until you move” and he moved over enough so i can put food on the feeding station next to him. These bears are amazing to watch and observe but am not looking forward to dealing with the public...

Well i guess when more exciting things happen i shall write again...

^Út Í Óvissuna^

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Photos

Cubs kissing in tree
They just sniffed each other but it was really cute

Bear Beds
We make these out of logs and dirt so the smaller bears can sit pp higher to see and feel safe

Leah and yearling
eating together

Cubs
Waiting for mom to get back

Thelma and yearling
sharing a meal

Birds on stump
We feed all the wildlife here

Thelma and yearlings
All four in a tree guarded by mom

Woodchuck
'Udovich' the woodchuck lives under the cook shack where we eat

Peanut misses Karen
Karen left for a week and Peanut sat on her cabin porch sniffing it. I said "Peanut, Karen is gone..." and she looked at me, sat down, then left a bit later

Angry Phoebe
This bird in the nest above our cabin has flown at me multiple times...

Sifting dates
One of the many jobs here

Mating in the field
Two bears mating, the male followed her around for about 15 minutes

Chipmunk
It's funny to watch them engorge themselves and stuff their cheeks with almonds

Mischievous yearling
This is one of Peanut's little guys. He and his siblings are always up to shenanigans...

Cub Tree II
Two mom's had 3 cubs each stuck in this tree for over an hour

Wellington
What a handsome bear!