*PLEASE NOTE: BEARS DO NOT HAVE NAMES! We sometimes assign
them names in order to be able to record and share information about
individuals that can be consistently identified.
The staff at McNeil make note of the bears they see when
they guide the viewers out into the Sanctuary each day. At the Falls, they make hourly counts
of all the bears they have in view at one time. This year their highest hourly
count was 53 and unofficially they observed 60 bears at one time! The first
time in ten years that they have seen that many bears at the Falls.
Here’s what I learned about your old friends from the
staff’s records for this summer.
LUTHER – at the McNeil Falls all of July, fishing the same
spot at “The Coffee Shop”
TED-LIKE – at the Falls late in July
OTTO – back at the Falls and “doing great”
CUSTER – very light blonde male, in mid-twenties, aging
ALBERT – one of the very old bears from last summer, did not
return
MONKEYFACE – an older bear that submerged himself to catch
fish on the far side, did not return
ROCKY – took MONKEYFACE’S place as the underwater bear
RENO – a young male subadult and buddy of Braveheart, did
not return and is likely using another feeding area
DEREK – I don’t remember this bear, but maybe you do, he was
the last large male seen at the Sanctuary this summer
JORDAN – was one of the first bears seen at the Sanctuary on
May 21st courting a young female bear they call LIMPY
MCDOUGAL and
TRUE COAT fished the Coffee Shop
ELVIS, DUSTY and ROCKY were “primary players” at the Falls,
fishing actively
AARDVARK and WOLFGANG also fished the Coffee Shop
TEDDY’S TWINS (Pluto and Goofy) – dark subadults we’d see
playing in the pool are probably 6.5 this year and were present at the Falls
DONNIE- who holds his fish with his paw fished the Coffee
Shop
Other “named” bears observed at the Falls include:
BRAVEHEART, HOLDEN, MINDY (formerly S-CAR-GO for his s-shaped scar), DALLAS,
TED TOO, ELIZABETH (dark female), BOOG, BAB(bad ass bear), GIMPY (old female),
PLUNGER, EARS (has an ear tag from a previous study), WHITE CLAWS, IVORY CLAWS
(female), VANILLA (female), BLONDE BEGGAR, CRISCO, DROOP, PINTAIL, GOLDILOCKS
(subadult female), HORSESHOE,
CORNELIUS, DIAMOND EYES (female), LEFT EAR OFF, WISHBONE, POLLY (female),
SCRAPER, SOUTHPAW, APEMAN, 4-CLAW, IVAN, EYE-DROP, WHITE COLLAR, TWO-NECK,
SHED-BELLY, FROGGY, RIGHT NOTCH, and SCRAPPIE.
The guide noted that some bears are regulars at the Falls, like Luther and Rocky, while some bears just drop in for a week or so at the peak of the run.
I'll try to get some more photos up today and a report on the family groups, not listed above.
Elizabeth