This Black Bear den is near Ely in Northeastern Minnesota, USA, less than 30 miles from the Canadian border.

The bear that you can see is a wild hibernating female black bear named Lily. Researchers say that there is a better than average chance of her giving birth to cubs around mid Jan. Lily is the 3-year-old daughter from June’s second litter. June will turn 9 in the middle of January. June’s mother Shadow will turn 20 at the same time. Shadow, the grandmother of Lily, is the matriarch of the bear clan that lives in this area.

Lily is part of a long-term study of black bear ecology and behavior being conducted by the North American Bear Center (www.bear.org) and the Wildlife Research Institute (www.bearstudy.org) near Ely, Minnesota.