Keeper Katie works with the bears closely and is their primary trainer. You can see how well Katie is doing working with Virginia to open her mouth. (Getting a good look at an animal’s teeth is an important part of veterinary care). We’ll post more videos of the Keepers doing operant conditioning work with the animals if you want- just say the word.Read more
Posts tagged: #bears
Christmas 2016
So, I arrive this Christmas without any issues at all- waking before my alarm and remembering to pack some food. The Keepers have left me some notes: Compared to Christmas 2015, there are a few primary differences I notice right off the bat: I am using a smart phone this year to take pictures… no more flip phone for me. I set the logbooks up on the Vet Room table rather than the counter- apparently sitting is a desire thisRead more
Medicating the Bears
Every animals takes their medication differently. A few years ago, Jill made a post about how we get some of our animals to take their meds. Recently, we had Leslie out in Explore the Wild taking photos of some of our exhibits and she just happened to catch Janine and me giving our bears their dewormer. Just like your pets at home get prophylactic dewormers (medication that is intended to prevent parasites), we do the same for our animals hereRead more
Who Makes That Sound? –Answer
Believe it or not, this sound clip is of our bears! Yona is the whiny voice you hear first, and Mimi is the one yelling at her towards the end. It was rather like this photo, but with Yona on the left, rather than Gus. Yona starts arguments with the other bears fairly regularly, but don’t worry too much about it, their spats are nearly always vocal and very seldom end in any physical contact. Mimi “wins” most arguments with theRead more
Why Purple Poop?
We have shown you pictures of fun colored poop before courtesy of our bears. The other day I found an oddly colored poop–any ideas what food made the bears poop purple!? I think it is sort of pretty in a gross way–Keeper Jill does not agree! 😛Read more
Christmas 2015
You know the deal. Advance prep for the day: Review all the log books and check in with Keepers about any specific things to note. CHECK Christmas present for Security Guard. CHECK Headlamp and tasty food for me on desk and ready. CHECK New batteries in Camera. CHECK All’s ready for the day. 5:00 AM arrival with the only issue being I startled the security guard. I arrive set to have no escapes, even though Sarah commented itRead more