Our interns’ owl enrichment project seems to be a success. We (they) haven’t watched all the footage yet, but we got some video of the barred owl engaging with the nesting box that Dakota and Lauren worked on.

Another one of our favorite enrichment items is an old car wash brush. We had hoped to order another one this year, however, we’re just going to have to make due with what we have.

Yona seems to claim the brush as her own, and can regularly be found using the brush as a belly scratcher. Check out this video that Mary filmed while on top of the bear house looking down on miss Yona.

Watch and listen really closely. Typically, Yona is seen lounging on “her brush”, silently, while leaning in for what can only be described as pure pleasure. However, at the beginning of this video clip, you can hear and see Yona doing some lip smacking, and then she charges the brush. Not sure if it is the smell of other bears on the brush, a moment of stress, or exerting dominance or aggression, but it is super interesting to watch!