Bear cub whose birth was watched online missing near Ely

Post date: May 25, 2010 4:50:28 PM

This photo shows Lily before she gave birth on Jan. 22. Thanks to Den Cam, people around the world watched the live birth and now mother and cub on the Internet.

By BOB VON STERNBERG, Star Tribune

Last update: May 25, 2010 - 11:35 AM

A black bear cub whose birth and early life in a den near Ely, Minn., were viewed by millions of people on the Web has gone missing.

According to officials of the North American Bear Center, the cub, named Hope, disappeared last Friday.

Her mother, Lily, had been searching for her intermittently, but appeared to give up on Sunday.

In a letter posted on the bear center's website, biologists Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield on Monday reported that "Lily searched for Hope a couple hours last evening without success. The rain yesterday might have washed away too much scent for Lily to track her. Now, with torrential rain overnight, Lily seems to have given up."

They wrote that center employees and volunteers had searched the nearby woods and interviewed neighbors, who reported seeing nothing.

Hope was born on Jan. 22 and left the den this spring.

Rogers and a video producer installed a live video camera in Lily's den so members of the public could watch the birth and care of her cub. It was the first time a birth of a wild black bear has been viewed live on the Web.

Although it's not uncommon for bear cubs to disappear, Rogers and Mansfield wrote that they "don't know what to think" about Hope's fate because the behavior of a cub and its mother has never before been monitored so closely.

They also wrote: "Hope could still be alive, but seeing Lily give up and not return to the spot has us thinking the worst. Did she find Hope dead last night? Was there not enough scent for her to track Hope? Did the ill-timed rain kill Lily's chances of finding her?

"In our waking hours overnight, like you, we felt joy that the morning would bring good news. The emotional roller-coaster continues. Although we haven't completely given up hope, [we] mainly want closure."