The waiting is the hardest part…

Occasionally, I’m approached by visitors that are disappointed because they have not been able to see animals in our exhibits. In this post I thought I would provide a few tips from the animal keepers on how to increase your chances of viewing our animals.

First, try to get to Explore the Wild as early as possible. (One of the benefits of membership is coming to the museum an hour earlier than the public.) Our bears and lemurs stay indoors at night so are often ready to explore their exhibit in the mornings. In addition, they get food in the morning so you may get to see them have breakfast!

Secondly, make sure you budget enough time at each exhibit. Our Explore the Wild habitats are large and include a lot of natural features. If you spend five minutes quietly observing you will most likely see an animal. Some areas have user controlled video cameras that will aid your search.
Other suggestions from keepers include: The bears get fed every day around 1:45 pm and can usually be seen from the secondary bear viewing area just past the wolf overlook. Our two youngest bears, Gus and Virginia, can climb the cliff so don’t forget to look up. Wolves often spend the afternoon in the shady part of their exhibit on the right side of the pool. Howling at the wolves never attracts them and does not cause them to howl. They also don’t respond to whistles like a family dog. They are fairly shy so quiet observation is your best bet.

Don’t forget we have a Meet the Keeper program every day at 2pm, you can always ask us to help you find an animal.

4 responses to The waiting is the hardest part…

  1. Great post. I didn’t know about the 1:45 bear feeding time. I also LOVE that you mention that members have an advantage in seeing the animals earlier. That was awesome. Thanks.

  2. Larry says:

    The 1:45 bear feeding is not an official program and can happen between 1:30 and 2:30. But the bears are usually waiting by the house during this time so it is a good idea to direct visitors that way.

  3. celina says:

    We visited the museum today with my daughters school (Carver Elementary). It was great! We were able to be there for the 2pm zookeepers program. The zookeeper was very helpful and had tons of information for the kids!! Keep up the great work!!!

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