Statesman

Issue date: 1/27/10 Section: Outdoors

Media Credit: www.bear.org/SUBMITTED The live webcast logon screen to Lily the Bear's not-so-private den.

Grab your laptop, log on to www.bear.org and navigate to the "Den Cam" link to see a stunning sign of the times for ecological technology. As part of a long-term study near Ely, Minn., on black bear ecology and behavior, Lily the black bear's den was retrofitted with a webcam that is currently broadcasting in real time across the Internet.

But here's the kicker-she just gave birth. After what Wildlife Filmmaker Doug Hajicek called on the Today Show a "violent labor" lasting 21 hours, Lily gave birth to a cub live on the Internet.

The North American Bear Center (NABC) stated that Lily went into Labor at 1:59 p.m. CST on Jan. 21 and bouts of labor continued for nearly 24 hours.

With 63,0000 fans on Facebook, Lily is nuzzling her way into the limelight as interested and undoubtedly curious bear enthusiasts watch all over the globe.

"Action in the den," one of Lily's Twitter account, LilyBlackBear, updates reads.

Though Lily certainly has a large following on the internet, the sex of her new cub probably won't be determinable for another couple of weeks, keeping thousands of Lily fans waiting in suspense.

The average size for this type of newborn cub is only 3/4 lb. and nine inches long, which is remarkably small compared to the size of the mother. The reason for this is hibernation, according to a Lily update by the NABC, "The mother's lowered metabolism means lower blood oxygen levels for the fetuses. Early birth gets them out breathing on their own as soon as possible."

On the morning of Jan. 25, there were nearly 3,000 viewers watching the bear rear her cub. On the day of the birth there were over 14,000, biting their nails waiting for Lily to deliver.

It is a grand stroke of luck for the cub that he or she is the lone cub in the litter. Eliminating competition and maximizing one-on-one time will make growing up easier.

As it is winter and bears hibernate during this time of year, Lily is in a state of hibernation. According to the NABC Web site www.bear.org, there are five stages of the black bear hibernation schedule.

The first stage is hibernation itself, which Lily is in, an approximately seven-month long period (there is some variance based on the location of the bear, but about seven months is accurate in Ely) of time in which a bear does not eat, drink, urinate or deficate. During hibernation, "They can reduce oxygen consumption and metabolic rate by half and breathe only once every 45 seconds," the NABC said.

Continued...

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