Here’s a couple of videos that were taken of Ursula over the last couple of years. in this first video, there was a particularly heavy snow that we got one winter and one of our previous keepers, Cassidy, got some video of Urse walking around and digging in the snow. Her thick coat made her seem oblivious to the cold weather and snow that was still falling at the time (you can see some of the snow on her back).

This next video was taken  in the spring/summer 2009, and Urse was enjoying a swim. Urse was always a fan of the water and she often liked to wade in the pools. In the house where we have large tubs of water for the bears, she would often times be seen by keepers splashing the water everywhere and seemingly having a great time in the process. These endearing moments are just a couple of things that we will miss about her.

Three years ago I posted a Creature Feature on Ursula talking about her favorite foods, her antics as a youngster, and moments she had with keepers and enrichment. You can click here if you’d like to read that post and learn more about Ursula.

In the last couple of days, the keepers have received great support and kind words from the other museum staff and it is very much appreciated. All of us here at the museum have our own favorite memories of Urse, whether it be from behind the scenes while caring for her or from bear overlook while watching her eat, sleep, swim, interact with enrichment, or tell the pesky younger bears to go away. I think it is safe to say that Urse will have a special place in many of our hearts for a long time to come. If you have a special memory of Urse while visiting the museum please feel free to share it with us in the comment section.