If you ever had any doubt about how very dexterous a black bear is, how’s this for evidence? This is a watermelon produce sticker that I found in the bear yard yesterday while scooping. (yes, we are using up all those watermelons on my desk) I’ve actually found even smaller apple and orange stickers before, taken off so smoothly that you’re still able to read the produce number! I’m not sure whether they are using their teeth or their claws,Read more
Posts tagged: #science
Big Word of the Month: Piloerection
You may have recently read about our new pig, Miss Piggy; she just moved in with our older pig, Squealer. Pig introductions don’t usually happen without at least some scuffling to establish dominance. During the introduction, both pigs displayed quite a bit of piloerection, or raised hairs. The word piloerection comes from the Latin root pilus, which means hair. Piloerection occurs in many mammals and happens when the tiny muscles at the base of each hair follicle contract. Piloerection canRead more
A Bear of a Week
You know about the “extra” bear we had to deal with Saturday. We’re still processing and reviewing the situation. I’ll be meeting with all the Keepers together tomorrow, as thus far we have only talked about it in smaller groups, many times. This is a cast that we took of his paw print that we found in the mud around our perimeter fence- where he climbed onto Museum property. (sorry I don’t have a photo of the bear- I wasRead more
Another Bear at the Museum
I never thought I would be running around Museum grounds after a bear that wasn’t a pretend bear that was part of an emergency training. And, if a bear was on grounds I would of assumed that a storm had come through and knocked out some of our bear fence and I would need to catch one of the Museum’s bears. Saturday I was paged and on my beeper the emergency code showed up. I live around the corner fromRead more
Smiling Bears: a fun and interesting evening event
My friend Lisa Stewart at the Appalachian Bear Rescue sent me this photo of one of the cubs she is rehabbing now. It’s pretty cute so I had to share it with you (even Larry would have to say it was cute). If you love bears you are not going to want to miss our evening event Thursday June 25 at 7:00. Bear behaviorist and former animal keeper Else Poulsen will be here to share stories of her work withRead more
EnrichBits: Keepers’ favorites
EnrichBits: A monthly look at animal enrichment This month, we thought it’d be fun to ask around and see what the keepers enjoy best in terms of animal enrichment. “What’s your favorite enrichment to watch or give?” got these responses: Marilyn: I really like when the bears get a box-in-a-box-in-a-box. (This is where we hide a yummy treat in a box, put that box in a bigger box, and that box in a bigger box, in order to create aRead more