March 6, 2010 Playtime (Special Edition) - Lily the Black Bear and her cub sightings

Video editing and comments by Linda Gibson (a fan).

http://www.bear.org

Lily is a wild Black Bear who at 3 years old had her first cub on Friday, January 22, 2010.

This is a special edition video from March 6th. Lily is cleaning and mouthing Hope, much to Hope's frustration. All she wants to do is nurse towards the end...Lily seems to almost want to play.

A viewing from February 3rd http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwV1EbvL18o showed the cub rolling on her back. Researchers studied that clip and felt 90% sure that it was a girl...until the cub proved them wrong, they said. :)

A viewing from February 20th http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhmZYfai0JA gave them even more confirmation that she is a she. Their update at Bear.org http://www.bear.org/website/visit-us/lily-updates/277-update-february-21-2010... explains how they determined this.

Female bears stay in the area for life, whereas males move away in 1 to 2 years. The researchers will be able to continue their studies on this little cub if their analysis is correct.

Cubs are born hairless and weigh only 1/2 to 1 lb at birth. This cub will stay with it's mother for about 17 months, hibernating with her next winter.

A long-term study of black bear ecology and behavior is being conducted by the Wildlife Research Institute http://www.bearstudy.org near Ely, Minnesota, less than 30 miles from the Canadian border.

On January 8th, a PixController video camera was installed in Lily's den by trusted researchers. The incredible show of trust by Lily is demonstrated in the cam installation video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCxTyHCvpfA At night, passive infrared light allows us to watch Lily 24/7 without disturbing her.

Thousands of people watch Lily as she labored and gave birth and the numbers grow as more people learn of this rare insight into the life of the amazing black bear.

Visit the Bear Center's website to watch the live cam feed. http://www.bear.org

Please, remember to donate at www.bear.org to help with this incredible research program.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Lily
• black bear
• newborn cub
• baby cub
• cub
• nursing
• ely
• minnesota
• north american bear center
• research
• wildlife
• nature
• den
• cam
• hibernation

[CookieToddo]

Hi GyspyLinda,

What program do you use to capture this video? Yours has sound which I like. I use Aviscreen and then Roxio software.

Thank you for sharing this with us.

[gypsylinda]

@CookieToddo I'll send you an email. :)

[sevenof9fl]

This was GREAT! I can hear Hope saying "Noo Mommy no baff don needs no baff nooooo" LOL!  Thanks so much for posting this!!

[barrettgoobers]

"PlayTime" was adorable!!!! I sure don't know much about bears, but I'd bet my paycheck that Lily was DEFINITLY playing and showed us she has a good sense of humor!!!!!! LOL And sweet little Hope did NOT have a sense of humor about it all !!!!!

[ellenpham05]

OMG, the cutest ever. Thank goodness Lily doesn't have the same temper as Hope does!

[zoozizoo]

Thankyou so much - it really made me happy to watch your video of Lily and Hope!

[1ster1]

LOL Poor old Lily doesn't seem to have room for all 4 of those great big feet of her. Great shots, funny commentary. Many thanks.

[cshea]

Great coverage!

[spiderxcat]

Oh this is so wonderful Thank yOU THANK YOU!! what great footage.. EVEN black bears don't like to get Baths!! what an adorable cubby!! . Lily is doing a great job mommy bear.. ..