January Bear Moon, Olympus Shots, Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 2012, photo © 2012 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
Jewel of the North Woods under the waning Bear Moon — will you birth your cubs on Lily's birthday? Or three days later, when Hope's Spirit comes to play.
NOTE: Jewel the black bear is in the early stages of labor (you can watch at this link: Jewel’s Live Den Cam or check out the links in the poem to see Jim Stroner’s photographs of the bears). Jewel is a wild black bear, the sister of the famous Lily the Black Bear who gave birth to Hope on January 22nd, 2010 (we lost Hope last September during the 2011 Minnesota hunting season). If I remember correctly, it is Lily’s day of birth today, January 19th. I wrote the poem before I read the Wildlife Research Institute update tonight stating that it will be biologist Sue Mansfield’s birthday on January 20th (Happy Birthday, Sue!). The mystery remains, on whose birthday will Jewel of the Northwoods have her cubs?
The photograph was taken a few weeks ago at the Full January Moon. Liz and I went out into the urban Wild to photograph the Moon as she rose. Depending on your background, the January Moon is known as the Wolf Moon, the Cold Moon, and the Bear Moon (among many other names). It’s the Bear Moon all month long, not just at the Full Moon, and is usually one of the brightest Moons of the year. Stay warm, Jewel. It’s -6 in the Twin Cities and -15 in Ely, Minnesota. We are watching your every breath.
-posted on red Ravine, , Thursday, January 19th, 2012, with gratitude to biologists Lynn Rogers & Sue Mansfield
-related to posts: haiku 4 (one-a-day) meets renga 52, MN Black Bear Den Cam: Will Lily Have Cubs?
Thanks for all of this, the beautiful moon, Jewel, and the hope of the new life coming into our (sometimes) cold and always wondrous world.
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Thanks for stopping by, Sandrarenee. It’s down to -9 here this morning and I’m about to head out for the day. I’ve been following these bears for a few years now. Their wildness changes the world. Can’t wait for cubs!
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QM,
I work in labor and delivery at the university of hospital. Birth doesn’t look any easier for bears, although she is much quieter than most of the women I have seen give birth.
Love the moon photo. That blue night sky is so rich and deep.
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Thankyou, the photograph helped me pause well from the demands of this day and your poem rested me here now.
Thankyou, Craig
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Thanks for stopping by Teresa & Craig. It’s been cloudy and cold and I haven’t seen the Moon in quite a while. When I see this photo, I remember standing in the clearing that night while the Bear Moon rose. This year I’m trying to learn more about shooting different land and skyscapes by playing around with the settings on my camera.
This photograph is not doctored at all, but just the way I shot it. The sky was a dark blue. In order for the Moon to pop, I had to underexpose the shot by a few stops. I’m shooting with Liz’s Olympus, an SLR that I don’t know very well so am still learning. Most of the photographs on red Ravine up until this year were done with a point and shoot or a phone camera. I’m in new territory for me!
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Oh, wanted to add that black bear Jewel has not had her cubs yet. It’s slow and steady Den Cam watching but worth the wait. She was pretty active a few minutes ago, but is now sleeping again with her head pointed outside the den. The coolest thing about the research of biologists Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield is the hands off approach they use to gathering data about black bears and educating the public.
Right now, there are three den cams set up for observation, two in the wild dens of black bears (Lily & Faith, and Jewel), yet the bears have no idea we are watching them. January and February is the best time for viewing while the bears are hibernating. I was astonished to learn a few years ago that black bears in hibernation don’t just sleep the Winters away. They are very active!
Once again, here are the links to the Den Cams:
Jewel of the Northwoods in Labor (LINK)
Lily & Faith Den Cam (LINK)
Lucky & Honey DenCam, Black Bears at the NABC (LINK)
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I’ve been trying to get back over to redRavine all morning to announce that Jewel the black bear had her cubs this morning! At least two that we know of. Jewel’s DenCam is very active right now. Cubs are nursing, a pileated woodpecker is staking out his territory nearby. Once in a while, we hear a crow caw or the full wind blow across the North Woods.
Jewel’s births were completely different than Lily the Black Bear. Much quieter and more serene. Here are some links to give you current info on Jewel’s cubs:
Jewel of the Northwoods & her cubs LIVE DenCam (LINK) — Live video stream
Video of Jewel’s 1st cub being born (LINK) — Sunday, September 22nd, 2012 – between 7:22am and 7:25am
Video of Jewel’s 2nd cub being born (LINK) — Sunday, September 22nd, 2012 – between 8:40am and 8:41am
Last update from the WRI from last night: UPDATE: January 21, 2012 – 7:57 PM CST – Working While We Wait (LINK)
Happy viewing! FYI, that Lily & Faith’s DenCam will be down for a while. The WRI borrowed some equipment from Lily’s DenCam to take over to Jewel’s to make it work better. They said it’s been a challenge to keep two DenCams running this year. Grateful for all who support the black bears. To better educate the world on black bears and other wildlife, helps us learn better how humans can coexist with all sentient beings.
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In honor of Hope’s birthday today (she was born January 22nd, 2010), I’m reposting the video of her birth. Hope was shot and (legally) killed by a hunter September of 2011. It’s heartbreaking to watch—the birth of Hope in Lily’s den. But the birth of Jewel’s two cubs on the same day, January 22nd, 2012, lifts my spirit. Everything cycles.
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Beautiful moon photo, QM. And I was so glad to hear the cubs were born on Hope’s birthday. 🙂
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Robin, thank you. Me, too. It’s been a big day for bear watching. Cleaned the house and now dinner. Hope things are going well over at the bogs. We have had a sleety rain all day. Not good for driving. It’s warmed up a lot though. No moon watching tonight! Way too cloudy. One thing I learned about getting out and photographing — I have to do it when the mood strikes me and pay attention to when the light is favorable. If I put it off, the Moon might be clouded over. Glad I got out this Bear Moon night. 😎
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For those following Jewel and her cubs, they are wrestling in the den this morning, and have made it out of the den a few times. It won’t be long before Mother Jewel of the Northwoods, Herbie, and Fern will be out roaming the forests near Ely, Minnesota.
Check out the live dencam this morning for amazing live black bear cub video!
Jewel & her Cubs DenCam (LINK)
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