Wilderness News Online

Lily and Hope the celebrity bears being observed by researchers at the North American Bear Center continue to live separate lives, although both appear to be doing well. Lily, the mother bear, and Hope, her cub who’s birth was web-cast earlier this year, have been apart since May 31.

After a dramatic initial separation and reunion, the mother bear left her cub again shortly afterward and has not returned for it. The cub, with the help of food supplementation by North American Bear Center researchers, continues to grow. The mother appears to be alone, and not paired with a male.

Researchers do not expect mother and cub to reunite.  Indeed, the mother bear may be staying away from her cub’s foraging area on purpose, in a manner similar to the way mother bears avoid the territories of the yearling offspring after the pair breaks up.

You can follow Lily and Hope on a daily basis, HERE, via the North American Bear Center web site.