Well, spring is deifinitely right around the corner, and our black bears have become more active on the days when the weather is warmer. Today being around 80 degrees, it was perfect weather to be out and about! Here is a picture of three of them (Mimi, Ursula and Gus from left to right) that I took today at the 2:00 program where they were foraging for their afternoon food that I had scattered. As it continues to get warmer,Read more
Posts tagged: #animals
The Birds
Lately, when you walk out the main museum doors into Loblolly Park, it’s like a scene out of Hitchcock’s The Birds. The holly bushes are full of berries right now and large flocks of birds are hanging out around in the nearby trees, flying in and out of the bushes, and creating quite a symphony of bird song. I’m not the best birder, but have noticed large numbers of robins and cedar waxwings. It’s a better effect in person, soRead more
Interesting bear birth(s)
I am on a email group of “bear” professionals. Last week there were a lot of discussions about itching bears and what to do. This week, I received an email that sent me to a short video which showed a captive grizzly bear giving birth to a single cub on January 16th. So, big deal? The big deal is that the bear had already given birth to twins on December 31st! Click here to see the video that took placeRead more
EnrichBits: Max’s Monday out– part two
EnrichBits: A monthly look at animal enrichment In the last EnrichBits post, I showed Max, our steer, getting some time outside his stall and yard on a day we were closed to vistors. He got to experience many new and enriching sights, sounds, and smells while he checked out Loblolly Park (our playground). The goal is to provide new and exciting without crossing the line into stressful, so we had quite a few animal department staff out there to helpRead more
Where’s Mudsy?
Mudsy is our mud turtle that is used for educational programs, and has lived off exhibit for many years. However, once Sponge Bob our softshell turtle passed away, we had an empty exhibit that needed to be filled. For right now, we have decided to put Mudsy in the tank. But some of our visitors have had a hard time finding Mudsy, because he looks a lot like the other rocks on the bottom of his exhibit. If you don’tRead more
Virginia comes in for dinner
If you’ve ever been to one of our Meet the Keeper programs at Bear Overlook, a keeper has probably described to you how Virginia and Gus, two of our younger black bears, can climb up to the top ledge of the rock quarry that is their exhibit. They get up there by climbing up this natural ramp on the back wall of the exhibit. It’s pretty steep; I sure wouldn’t want to attempt it, but bears are great climbers andRead more