This week courtship and mating, Is Holly in estrus again? Tasha’s cuteness.
Bear Weights:
Lucky 481 lbs. • Holly 273 lbs. • Tasha 324 lbs
Bear News – July 28, 2023
In June I reported that Holly was in estrus. She flirted with Lucky through the fence in the bunkers. She also continually marked the fence between them and posts near his gate. Without much hesitation I thought that was it.
When we let the two of them out in July, a few days went by and we noticed Holly acting like Tasha, trying to get Lucky’s attention. She persisted and he was immediately attracted to her.
I asked Dr. Rogers if Holly could be in estrus again even though she was in estrus in June. I told him my observations, and he agreed she had gone back into estrus. Estrus is a recurring period of sexual receptivity and fertility in many female mammals, also known as being “in heat”.
Courtship and Mating
Males follow females to assess their receptiveness, regularly sniffing areas where the female has sat and the female herself when possible. Couples often play and rest together during courtship. Males may follow individual females and guard them against rivals for up to 9 days before the female becomes receptive and mating occurs. Soon after mating, the male moves on to find another mate. Both sexes are promiscuous.
Although not quite like a female that loses her cubs and is then drawn back into estrus, Holly is in estrus a second time this year and she has Lucky’s full attention. To learn more please about Courtship and Mating from our website.
Tasha played in the pond, she not only cooled herself off, but enjoyed the apples floating nearby. She made many swirls in the water as she swam and pushed the logs around.
While in her new enclosure Tasha sometimes likes to put her nostrils under the water and blow bubbles. We collectively call it snorkeling. I gave her a dog biscuit this week and she dropped it in the water. She picked it up, took a few bites and dropped it back in the water repeatedly until she had eaten the entire biscuit.
The NABC is very proud of our bears. Each one with their differences yet all black bears. A group or gathering of black bears is called a sloth of bears or sleuth of bears. It really is, look it up.
Holly was showing off her climbing skills, checking out the new fence and locks. She also climbed high up an Aspen tree just to break off a branch and bring it down in her mouth. Her play has been mostly with Lucky. She seems to be aware that Tasha is pushing the boundaries and perhaps challenging her dominance as matriarch. Unfortunately, Holly with one glance sends Tasha running. Of course Holly’s one glance sends most of us running (just kidding).
Lucky has been constantly beside or behind Holly. He has shown a great interest in coupling. Holly allows this action but then moves away. Our hope is that it ends soon.
In the meantime Lucky has checked out each of the new dens. He digs and throws dirt everywhere. Is there a possibility that he will choose a different den? With the recent storms producing heavy rain and plenty of thunder and lightning, he seems very comfortable and protected in Den #2.
I’d like to thank all that attended the Lilypad picnic and donated towards bear bags. The bears really enjoyed their treats.
Our Wishlist is still available on Amazon. We are in need of tree nuts, pecans, walnuts, Brazil nuts, and hazelnuts. At the beginning of the season we had an abundance of dried fruit but now we need apricots, pineapple, cherries or cranberries. If you’d like to donate food for the bears, please take a look at our Amazon Wishlist.
Thank you for all you do,
Sr. Bear Keeper, Sharon Herrell
