Lucy
Photo credit: Stuart Sharpe
🐻 Lucy – Individual Profile
Status: Adult female
Born: 2003
Years Sighted: 2010–2025
🎨 Distinguishing Features
- Black eye patches
- Reddish tones around her neck early in the season
- Naturally thin build, though in 2024 she became noticeably heavier due to exceptional salmon abundance
🐾 Paw Bias
- Right paw dominant
📅 Years Sighted
- 2010–2025
👨👩👧 Family Relationships
- Mother: Y Back
- Sibling: One sister (not seen in many years)
🐣 Cub History
- 2010: Single cub
- 2011: No cubs
- 2014: Triplets
- 2015: One yearling (“Lucky”)
- 2016: No biological two year old, but adopted two yearlings
- 2017–2021: Not seen
- 2021: Two COYs
- 2022: No cub “Diamond”
- 2025: Returned with Diamond as a yearling
🌿 Lucy at a Glance
- 💛 Kind, gentle bear with a persistent but soft demeanor (often rubs on nearby trees, even beside people)
- 🧓 22 years old in 2025, typically emerging from hibernation underweight
- 👩👧 Has raised multiple cubs since 2010, including a remarkable adoption of two yearlings in 2016
- ⚠️ Low cub survival over the years — causes uncertain (possible starvation or predation by bears or wolves)
- 🐾 2025: Returned with her yearling, Diamond, who is healthy, smart, and thriving
- 🌸 A devoted, attentive mother with strong maternal instincts
📘 Guide Field Notes
- 🧠 Smart and experienced, often choosing safe travel routes and efficient feeding areas
- 🌤️ Calm presence; rarely shows agitation
- 🐟 Known to fish patiently and efficiently, even when thin early in the season
- 🌲 Often seen using rubbing trees and scent marking subtly
- 🧡 A bear with a gentle energy — approachable in demeanor but always respected as a wild animal
- 🔭 Anticipated to return in 2026 with Diamond, continuing her long maternal legacy
Personal Reflections on Lucy
Among all the bears I have encountered, Lucy stands out as one of the kindest and most cherished bear relationships I have known. Her gentle nature and warmth make her not only a remarkable bear but also a treasured friend. Lucy’s communication is always clear, and she expresses her needs in a fair and respectful manner. If she is communicated boundary’s to respectfully and fairly, she accepts the answer gracefully and continues on her way without any sign of agitation or distress. This quality, combined with her calm presence, further highlights her admirable character. I eagerly anticipate the opportunity to see Lucy again this year, along with her cub Diamond, and to witness their ongoing bond and thriving relationship in 2026.