According to one of our blog polls (to the left of the screen), some of our readers are interested in learning more about life as a keeper. Many of our previous posts give an inside look at the sorts of things we do, such as operant conditioning with Max’s red bucket training, preparing for emergencies by staging a fake black bear escape, and outlining the tools we use when working with venomous snakes. We also post videos and stories aboutRead more
Posts tagged: #animals
Behind the Scenes with the Bears
To kick off Bear Awareness Week, I took some Museum members with me down to the bear exhibit. Five special families joined me before the Museum opened Sunday to prepare bear diets and then serve up breakfast to the bears on the rainy morning. We first went to the animal department kitchen to prepare the meal. They had to find all the foods, choose between different types of vegetables or frozen fruits, and measure out the appropriate amounts. Then weRead more
black bear escape!
It’s not really what you think. Last week I set up a drill for the Keepers. It’s what we call “emergency training”. The keepers stay after work and they are presented with some sort of scene. I would never really let the “real” bears out, so I had to find alternates. You can see “Ursula” to the right and “Gus” below. These are two of the bears they had to find. I basically told the keepers that there were twoRead more
Put YOUR pouch to good use
!!!Guest Blogger Keeper Jill!!! Opossums use their pouch to carry their young, but we can put your pouches to a good use too! Recently, the animal department has teamed up with TERRACYCLE implementing a recycling program. TERRACYCLE takes items that normally can’t be recycled and re-uses them. That benefits the environment and the animal department, because for each item that we recycle, the department gets money. Here’s how it works: Drink Pouches– remove straw,cut the tops off and rinse outRead more
Big word of the Month: Gestation
Spring is the time that many species give birth. Gestation is the period of time that a developing offspring is carried inside the mother. Biologists usually reserve this term for mammals but it is used more loosely in common speech. Below I provide some examples of gestational periods for some of the animals at the museum. Keep in mind that exact times may vary by several days depending on the condition of the mother and environmental changes.Explore the Wild BlackRead more
They make Bear Chow?
Lio. Copyright 2008 Mark Tatulli. Use by permission of Universal Press Syndicate. All rights reserved. CLICK ON THE STRIP TO MAKE IT BIGGER Lio is one of my new favorite comic strips –if you haven’t read it before, it’s a mostly pictorial view of one slightly weird little boy who hangs with under-the-bed monsters and assorted aliens and other creatures, and who deals with school bullies using his own imaginative inventions. It’s pretty funny, and the Sunday color illustrations areRead more