Articles
A Great Day - UPDATE July 22, 2018
Print Email
The LilyPad Brunch in the morning, and a Black Bear Field Study Course started in the afternoon with bears, gulls, and the usual. Holly
Holly looks around
Yesterday was a lot of fun, too, as Sharon Herrell describes:
Bear News ? July 22, 2018
This weekend has been so much fun for the Bear Center staff, volunteers, and of course our bears as the Lilypad gang descended on us. The interns had fun decorating bear food bags for the Lilypad participants to bid on. I've never seen so many people have so much fun spending money. It?s an awesome treat for them and our bears. The money raised will go towards bear foods. It?s an annual event with the Lilypad picnic gang. I hope you are all thinking about about joining us next year for the 10th Annual Lilypad Picnic.
Lucky
Lucky strolls along
Looking at this past week in pictures. Lucky's slow but ambling stroll to the viewing area to receive his enrichment toy is always a time of wait. Lucky strolls to his own beat which is not a timely one. His handsome features and slow stride make for an impressive display of bear behavior.
Holly looked around before ascending the Honey tree. It has become one of her favorite joys. The food placed on the trolley has her favorite foods, dried apricots and pecans. She will usually eat off the trolley. Lucky eats some on the trolley but likes it to drop to the ground and then he will descend and eat it.
Ted eating berries
Ted eats berries
Tasha had fun playing with her enrichment cube. The bears are given objects such as the enrichment cube to stimulate interest and create a situation where they have to problem solve to get the food they want. We use different types of enrichment items to continually pique their interest and keep them involved and using their senses. Some other types of enrichment activities involve hiding foods in the big enclosure, in their dens, and bringing in logs for Holly and Tasha to rip open for bugs and larvae. It is a special treat for them to hide food in the logs and burlap. A real interesting challenge for the bears and interns is to give Tasha or Holly the end of a tuggy (rope) toy. The bears always win. We use cubes, tubes, donuts, trolley and food spreads around the enclosure to enhance their curiosity and imitate how bears have to work for their food in the wild.
Tasha
Tasha plays with cube
Our sweet Ted found a raspberry patch by the bear trail were he stopped and ate the berries. Earlier in the week Tasha pulled some beaked hazelnuts towards her and she sat munching them.
In the next couple of Bear News updates I'll be showing many of the berry plants that grow in and around the enclosure and explain why sometimes visitors both at the center and online don't see the bears out front at times.Interns
Interns with food bags
Thank you for all you do and for continuing to care for our bears.
Sharon Herrell, Senior Bearkeeper
North American Bear Center
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
Author
Topic: Jewel and her cubs (Read 1806612 times)