With his nose pointed up in the air and rapidly sniffing, he ambled over to the tent and gave it a swift, hard swipe with his powerful paw. The tent didn’t collapse, but it did shake and flutter from the punch. He then smelled the ice chest and made it his next target; with a quick pop of the top, he retrieved the fish waiting inside. After consuming his prize, Blackie turned and saw that there was a HUGE crowd of onlookers. He looked up and saw an even larger crowd gazing at him from the road above. At this, he decided not to venture toward the fire pit where our campers had left their marshmallows and more fish, but instead made his way to the back of the exhibit, where he settled behind his waterfall and stared back out at the crowds. He seemed to be finished with his campsite destruction, but the point was made!

And what was the point of this? For our last day of the Bear Awareness Days event this year, we wanted to do a demonstration of how NOT to leave a campsite in bear country. Having acquired Scout and Montana, our grizzly bear cubs (see Hali’s blog, Brown Bear Boys), from the wild due to their camp-raiding escapades, it gave us the idea. We originally wanted to use the cubs for this project, but since we moved Blackie into the exhibit next door shortly before the event, we were forced to change gears. Blackie’s presence made quite an impact on little Scout and Montana, making them very nervous about the 900-pound big, black “monster” next door. It took our staff a lot of time and patience, along with lots of positive reinforcements, to convince Scout and Montana that Blackie would not be joining them! The camping gear would be one more thing for the cubs to have to get used to, and we felt that we had already mixed up their world enough for the time being. So, the decision was made to use Blackie as the “actor” and attempt to tie in the theme of Scout and Montana’s eventual removal from the wild due to finding food at campsites.

With that decision behind us, preparations were made for the event. Our veterinary staff requested that we introduce the camping items to Blackie prior to doing the presentation to make certain he was not going to injure himself. We received a generous donation of camping equipment from our friends at REI and began introducing the items to Blackie in his back bedroom area. He destroyed the first tent by slicing his claws across the front. He ignored the ice chest until we put something in it; he started to chew on the hiking boots but didn’t consume them. This “dress rehearsal” was enough for the vets to okay the presentation.

Next, we needed a couple of human actors to pose as campers. Two teammates stepped up to the plate and we formed a quick skit for the event. I narrated from the front of the exhibit while our human actors were in the exhibit (without Blackie, of course!) pretending to be irresponsible campers. I pointed out that the first mistake made was in placing their “campsite” next to bear tracks and a stream. Campsites should never be made where bears and other wildlife will frequent. I also mentioned that the campfire was less than the required 100 yards away from the tent. Our campers roasted marshmallows and left them on the fire, ate cereal and then threw the box into the tent for storage, dumped out a leftover fish meal near the fire pit, and then left for a “hike.”

I discussed how food should always be placed in bear-safe containers and that any leftover food needs to be burned. We then released Blackie to the exhibit to show what a bear can and will do in a campsite containing food. Since bears have about six months to gain enough fat reserves to carry them through a long hibernation, they will sniff out food from miles away. Once bears, as in the case of Scout and Montana, learn that human camps can contain food, often high in protein and carbs, they may seek out these areas and have unfortunate encounters with people. This can lead to the bear’s removal from the environment or euthanasia. To help protect our precious bears from this fate, we must all follow the camping-in-bear-country rules. Bears naturally want to avoid people. However, there are many factors, such as oil drilling that disrupts bear foraging spots, or global warming that kills off a prominent source of food like white pine seeds that can force bears to seek new food sources. It is very important that bears learn other natural food sources and not look toward campsites or other human-occupied areas; otherwise, the results will be disastrous for the bears.

All in all, the mock campsite event went well with a combination of some visitor entertainment and well as an enriching day for our friend, Blackie. If you weren’t able to make it to this year’s event, stay tuned for next year’s Bear Awareness Days as we hope to repeat the presentation. Hopefully, barring any snags, we will be hiring Scout and Montana for the bear roles. Should be a fun time for all!

Hali Anderson is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

Listen to an iZoofari Chat with Hali as she talks about Blackie’s first day in Bear Canyon…

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Habitat pressure from an ever-increasing human population is a common problem for many endangered species. In China, where the population is thought to have exceeded 1.32 billion last year and continues to grow at a reasonably slow rate of 0.6% per year (as of 2003), nearly 8 million people are added annually. Housing and feeding these people, and supporting the amazingly fast economic development of China, requires resources. The clearing of land for agricultural purposes represents a significant threat to the panda today.

Fortunately, the Chinese government began taking action to protect the panda in the latter half of the 1900s. A system of panda reserves was created to set aside habitat for the bear, whose populations had already contracted into the shrunken spaces allotted to them. Unfortunately, the subpopulations have been isolated from one another, separated by farms and restricted to high mountain areas.

Some corridors have been created recently that could allow for movement of bears between subpopulations, and efforts to replenish bamboo in low-lying areas of some reserves have begun. Steps such as these aim to mitigate the impact of past habitat fragmentation, but the current small groupings of bears and their relative isolation from one another remains a great challenge to the species. Not only does such fragmentation limit genetic exchange and reduce the potential for mating opportunities, but it makes the panda especially vulnerable to food shortages.

As you know, the panda subsists nearly exclusively on bamboo. Usually, this food source is an abundant, fast-growing plant that literally surrounds the bears in their habitat. However, the bamboo life cycle is such that at intervals the plant will experience a mass die-off, affecting nearly all plants of that species. When this occurs, pandas must switch to alternate bamboo species to fill their stomachs. Unfortunately, another side effect of habitat fragmentation is that switching to another species of bamboo may not be a viable option for some panda subpopulations. Chance plays a role in determining the abundance of various bamboos in a particular pocket of habitat, and if a panda was unlucky in that it lives in an area with a low diversity of bamboo species, it could be stranded without food. Without good corridors connecting pockets of habitat, the pandas within areas of mass die-off may starve.

According to the Red List, the most significant factor in conserving the panda today is habitat restoration. To this end, China has worked to increase forestation in and around reserves. Several programs banning logging and discouraging hillside farming in previously forested areas have been implemented. According to a 2006 report of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, these progressive policies have resulted in gains in forested area in China. Continued progress with such efforts should ultimately benefit the panda, as well as other species that share its habitat.

How can you, as a concerned global citizen, contribute to efforts to improve the outlook for this endangered bear? Since the government of China is the largest agent in promoting positive changes for the giant panda, it may seem that an ordinary person might not be able to have an impact. However, it is possible to offer support to organizations that work with the Chinese government to encourage conservation efforts for the panda. The World Wildlife Fund has a long history of such partnerships with Chinese ministries responsible for maintaining the panda population and currently has several habitat-oriented conservation efforts in place. Additionally, supporting efforts to promote panda research within China, using Chinese scientists, can increase pressure on the Chinese government from within. The San Diego Zoo collaborates with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, promoting the work of Chinese researchers who are studying the ecology of wild pandas.

The bottom line: preservation of wild populations of pandas is primarily dependent upon the restoration of panda habitat in China. The Chinese government holds the cards in this effort. As a global citizen, you can make the greatest difference by finding a way to contribute to continuing and future efforts to increase forestation, set aside more reserves, and reduce habitat fragmentation. With improved efforts in these areas, we may soon see the giant panda removed from the endangered species list.

Suzanne Hall is a senior research technician with the San Diego Zoo’s Giant Panda Unit.

Listen to an iZoofari Chat with Suzanne about panda conservation…

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However, like many endangered species, the sun bear’s habitat is subject to tremendous pressure and is disappearing at an alarming rate. This habitat destruction (a loss of thousands of square kilometers per year in Sumatra and Borneo alone) is one of the two primary conservation threats to the species.

Sun bears have historically been found throughout the Southeast Asian region, from India and China in the north down through Malaysia, Indonesia, and Borneo in the south. There are two subspecies of sun bears: the mainland variety, found in the northern, central, and Sumatran part of the range; the Bornean variety, found exclusively on the island of Borneo. Both subspecies are at risk, though the IUCN does not differentiate levels of threat at the subspecies level in the case of the sun bear.

The region of the world inhabited by the sun bear is a place of large, often fast-growing human populations. For example, the country of Indonesia, with a landmass nearly three times the size of the state of Texas, is home to about 235 million people (the population of Texas was about 23.5 million in 2006). Laos, about twice the size of Pennsylvania, has a population growing at a rate of 2.8% per annum as of 2003 (according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Pennsylvania boasted a growth rate of 1.3% in 2006).

Although the human population growth rate in the areas of sun bear habitat is high, loss of habitat results from industries supported by consumers around the world. Primary causes of habitat destruction include clear cutting to develop farming plantations, illegal lumber extraction, unsustainable logging, and forest fires. Logging of tropical hardwoods such as mahogany and ramin continues as consumers in the industrialized world demand furniture and home décor items such as picture frames, wooden blinds, and decorative moldings made of these woods.

Plantation farming in the last several years has focused on one primary product: palm oil. Consumers worldwide are enjoying supermarket fare such as chocolate, bread, cosmetics, and detergents made with unsustainably harvested palm oil. They may not be aware that their purchases are having a direct impact on the survivability of the sun bear, as well as other endearing species that share their habitat: the orangutan, Sumatran tiger, and bearded pig, to name a few.

There is another great threat to the conservation of the sun bear: commercial hunting. Throughout its home range, the bear is killed as a means of acquiring infant bears for the pet trade, or bear parts for the medicinal trade, or simply because the bears are considered a nuisance or safety hazard. Hunting of sun bears is largely an issue in countries where deforestation is relatively negligible, places where most bear habitat exists only in protected reserves or forests. However, poaching can be a devastating influence, too: Thailand’s sun bear numbers are thought to have been reduced by 50 percent in the last 20 years as a result of hunting. Bile farming with sun bears exists in countries such as Vietnam, where wild bears are often caught to supplement the stock of animals used to extract this fluid used for its purported medicinal purposes.

Smart consumer choices of savvy global citizens can go a long way toward increasing the survivorship of the sun bear. When selecting wood products for your home, choose items that are sustainably harvested, ensuring that the wood was not taken illegally or in a manner that will harm bear habitat. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certifies products that are environmentally responsible, made from wood that does not contribute to the destruction of the world’s forests. Their logo can be found on items in places like big home supply stores to smaller home décor shops.

If you are traveling to any of the exotic locales in which sun bears may be residents, please be wary of purchasing bear products you might find in markets. In most cases, your government would not allow importation of such animal souvenirs purchased abroad, thanks to the terms of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), of which many nations are signatories. Even so, the purchase of animal products clearly has a direct link to the death of that animal, and a vulnerable species such as the sun bear should not be subject to commercial sale.

The outlook for the sun bear is rather bleak. With 30 percent of its habitat disappearing in the last 30 years, the pressure is on for the “dog-faced bear.” Fortunately, this is one species that can be impacted by the efforts of people living thousands of miles away from sun bear habitat. Smart consumers can really play a roll by voting with their dollar, purchasing sustainable products as they go about their daily activities. If enough people support environmentally friendly methods of producing goods such as those outlined above, there may yet be hope that sun bears will continue to exist in the wild for future generations to appreciate.

Suzanne Hall is a senior research technician with the San Diego Zoo’s Giant Panda Unit.

Listen to an iZoofari Chat about sun bears with Suzanne…
…and a chat with a sun bear keeper (with a sun bear chiming in!)…

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Andean bears are the only species of bear native to South America, but their extinct relatives and ancestors once lived in North America. In fact, fossils of some of their kin, the short-faced bears, have been found just up the coast from San Diego, in Los Angeles. Although Andean bears are only medium sized when compared to the other bears living today, short-faced bears were the largest carnivores ever to walk on land.

By visiting the Zoo, by watching Panda Cam, or by reading other blogs (see Bear Awareness Days blogs), you probably already know that some bears spend a lot of time up in trees. For example, young giant pandas get themselves into such situations that you just have to wonder how they’re going to get down from there! What you may not know is that Andean bears may be the most arboreal of all bears. Not only do they feed on fruits and bromeliads at least 50 feet (15 meters) up in trees, but they also make ‘nests’ out of broken limbs. Researchers aren’t sure exactly why they make these nests, but two of the main hypotheses are that they are used as platforms for feeding or for resting, as you might expect.

Andean bears are currently considered to be at “high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Because their populations are believed to be declining, South American researchers have conducted heroic research on Andean bears for years, trying to determine where they live and what habitats they use, and trying to estimate how many bears there are. However, because these bears typically live in forests, spend so much time in trees, and avoid humans, we still don’t know very much about them. In fact, until a few years ago when researchers were able to radiocollar two bears in Bolivia, we didn’t know whether they were primarily active during the day, during the night, or both. (It appears that they’re active during the day.)

Today we have many more questions about Andean bears than we have answers: Where do females give birth to their cubs? How much habitat does an Andean bear need? What kind of habitat is best for Andean bears? Is it males, or females, that move from where they’re born to settle somewhere else? All of these questions have implications for bear conservation, but right now we can only guess at the answers, based on what we know about American black bears and brown bears. To begin filling the gaps in our knowledge, researchers at the San Diego Zoo are starting a conservation and research program in southeast Perú. In this long-term program we plan to collaborate extensively with Perúvian institutions, biologists, and local communities.

Unfortunately, some of what we do know about Andean bears is not good news. The greatest threats to Andean bear conservation are habitat loss and habitat fragmentation, although poaching by humans is a problem in some areas. The bears were once found in a wide variety of South American forests but are now primarily restricted to forests at higher elevations, much as the giant panda is now restricted to higher elevation bamboo forests in China. Andean forests are being logged for timber or for conversion to agricultural fields, often by local people who see these activities as their best economic options. In addition, like American black bears, Andean bears sometimes come into conflict with farmers when they raid fields of corn and other crops. In fact, the first and only time I’ve been lucky enough to see a wild Andean bear was in a cornfield in the mountains of Ecuador. As you can tell from these threats to Andean bear conservation, their future depends not only on learning more about them, but also on ensuring that economic conditions favor bear conservation.

What can you do to make a difference? Most directly, if you travel to one of the five countries where Andean bears live (Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Perú, and Bolivia), do not buy any souvenirs or products made with bear parts. It is illegal for people to kill Andean bears and to sell products made with bear parts. Besides, under international treaties it would probably be illegal for you to bring these products back to your home, wherever that may be. In addition, you should not support roadside zoos in these countries, but you should support rescue and rehabilitation centers that work with governmental natural resource agencies.

Does this mean that you can’t affect Andean bear conservation if you don’t travel in South America? No. Regardless of whether or not you travel to South America, you can support Andean bear conservation through four types of action. First, you can support conservation and research efforts focused specifically on Andean bears, either directly or through organizations such as the International Bear Association. Second, because the primary threats to Andean bear conservation are based on economic issues, you can support the bears by supporting efforts to develop sustainable economies in Andean bear country. Third, reduce your use of forest products, use recycled forest products wherever possible, and use products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Finally, because global climate change threatens the stability of ecosystems everywhere, take steps to reduce your energy use. Each of these actions would also benefit the conservation of other bear species, and other forest-dwelling species, so your efforts on behalf of Andean bears would produce broader conservation benefits.

The next time you’re at the top of Bear Canyon, enjoy a nice long look at our Andean bears. You’re gazing at an enigmatic, elusive mystery, and you’re getting a much better view than you would in the forests of South America!

Russ Van Horn is a senior researcher in the San Diego Zoo’s Applied Animal Ecology Division.

Listen to an iZoofari Chat with Russ…
Listen to an iZoofari Chat with an Andean bear keeper…
Read other Bear Awareness Days blogs from bear keepers and researchers…
Listen to other iZoofari Chats about bears…

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There is just something about polar bears that captures the imagination and attention of people of all ages.

In recent years, this fascination with polar bears has taken on a new dimension as the public has become aware of the possible fate of polar bears if global climate change continues to warm the Arctic and melt the sea ice. Can you imagine an Arctic without polar bears? I can’t! Researchers and animal care staff here at the San Diego Zoo, in collaboration with Polar Bears International, are doing everything we can to help polar bears survive in the wild through conservation-based scientific research and education.

Conservation Status of Polar Bears: How are they doing and what are the threats to their continued survival?

In the 1950s and 1960s, polar bears were reduced to as few as 5,000 individuals worldwide due to overhunting. The current total number of polar bears is estimated to be about 22,000 bears, divided amongst 19 subpopulations. The worldwide population has remained stable at this level for many years now, thanks to intensive management of hunting quotas. The rebound in the polar bear population numbers is a great reminder that humans can make a positive difference. Unfortunately, in recent years scientists are starting to see declines in population numbers in several subpopulations. These declines are undoubtedly the result of the loss of sea ice resulting from global climate change.

Through science-based management of hunting, and the fact that the Arctic has long been inhospitable to large-scale human development, polar bears are the only species of bear that still inhabits the entirety of its historic range. But that range, the Arctic sea ice, is disappearing at an alarming rate. If global climate warming continues at its current pace, the Arctic summer sea ice (that is, the ice that should be in the Arctic year-round) could be gone within 50 years. This stark statement is actually a relatively moderate prediction put forth by the ACIA (Arctic Climate Impact Assessment) working group, and is based on an average of predictions from various, reputable, climactic models. This prediction, along with others, prompted the Center for Biological Diversity to file a petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in January of 2007 to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (1972). The decision as to whether or not the polar bear should be “listed” under the ESA is imminent, and most polar bear biologists agree that “all, or a significant proportion of the total population [of polar bears] will become endangered in the foreseeable future” if no action is taken.

What does this mean for polar bears? Action needs to be taken to slow down, and ultimately reverse, the melting of the Arctic sea ice because polar bears (and many other animals) depend on this sea ice to survive. They feed on it, they find each other and breed on it, and many females’ den and give birth to cubs on it. Although polar bears are adept swimmers and are classified as marine mammals under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (1973), they are not adapted to a fully aquatic existence in the way that seals and whales are. The marine environment in which they thrive is that frozen platform of ocean that gives them an ideal perch from which to hunt seals. The fat from these seals provides polar bears with all the calories they need to survive in the Arctic cold. In fact, polar bears typically only eat the fat from the seals, leaving the remaining carcass for Arctic foxes and other scavengers. Polar bears, like all bears, will feed opportunistically on other food items. But the nutrition gained from these other sources simply does not provide the energy that a polar bear requires to survive.

Zoo Based Research: Filling in the details

Although exhibiting happy and healthy animals is a major focus of our work here at the San Diego Zoo, another of our goals is to study the animals in our charge in a scientific and systematic way. By making this a priority, we are contributing to the body of knowledge on polar bears and other animals that allows for good management in the wild. Polar bears can be difficult to study in the wild. Their harsh Arctic habitat and vastly roaming, solitary lifestyle makes the study of certain aspects of their biology virtually impossible. An example of this would be how their sensory systems are tailored to the environment in which they live, and how sensitive are these senses to human disturbance. At the San Diego Zoo, scientists are leading research that will help clarify how polar bears perceive the world around them. Some of our projects:

Polar Bear Hearing Sensitivity: Wildlife managers are concerned about the noise emitted from human industrial activities (such as petroleum exploration and extraction). But how sensitive are polar bears to noise? Researchers from our Zoo, in collaboration with Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, and animal care staff from both institutions, are completing research that will tell us a lot about how sensitive polar bear hearing is (see blog: Can You Hear Me Now?).

Scent Communication: As warming in the Arctic and the level of fragmentation of the polar bears’ sea ice habitat increases, how will this impact their ability to find each other over hundreds of miles during the breeding season? For that matter, how do they find each other over hundreds of miles? Again, researchers from the San Diego Zoo, with support from Polar Bears International, and participation from zoos around the country, are embarking on research that will give us insight into how important olfactory (aka scent) communication is to polar bears when they need to find each other over great distances (see blog: Is It the Perfume?).

Zoo Experience: A first-hand education in the beauty and inherent value of polar bears

San Diego is an enormously popular tourist destination, and one of the star attractions for any visitor is a trip to the San Diego Zoo or Wild Animal Park. For those of us who work here at the Zoo, we see this as a golden opportunity to not only introduce people to the beauty and wonder of polar bears and other exotic animals, but to let people know what these animals need to survive and thrive in the wild. Photographs and words can bring people closer to wildlife and enhance one’s appreciation for animals, but there is nothing like a polar bear swimming gracefully in the water a few feet away to convince people that they are majestic creatures truly deserving of our stewardship and protection. Couple this experience with some basic information regarding what polar bears need to survive in the wild, and how an average person can make a difference, and you have a life changing conservation experience.

Conservation in Action: What can you do to help the polar bear?

You’ve probably heard it before: Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle! These three words can guide each and every one of us to a lifestyle that will help the environment, reduce greenhouse gases, and help slow-down, and ultimately reverse, global climate change. Every year the average American produces about 7 tons of CO2 (the primary greenhouse gas responsible for global temperature change). Simple actions, such as driving less and in fuel-efficient vehicles, can greatly reduce this number. The take-home message is that we can all make a difference: By changing the way we live in our homes, we can help polar bears survive in their home. To learn more about what you can do to cut down on your CO2 emissions, join Polar Bears International’s “Project Polar Bear.” This innovative program is a great way for young people to make a big difference and help reduce atmospheric levels of CO2.

Megan Owen is a conservation program specialist in the San Diego Zoo’s Applied Animal Ecology Division.

View the Zoo’s polar bears daily on Polar Cam…
Listen to an iZoofari Chat about polar bears with Megan…

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As one of the keepers of Scout and Montana, our two grizzly bear cubs, I’m especially excited to announce that we have a beautiful set of paw prints to be auctioned off during Bear Awareness Days (the auction begins May 5 and runs through May 12 at 4 p.m. PDT). Recently, each cub has made a trip to our hospital facility for an exam. Knowing that Bear Awareness Days are fast approaching, we acted quickly: with the veterinarians’ permission and patience, we painted paws in between routine radiographs and dental cleanings and pressed them on to canvas to produce a truly unique set of prints from each cub. (Scout’s print is to the left, Montana’s print is at top.)

Another item that may be of interest to some of you is a special paw print we have from our beloved Spanky (right), which was created during one of his past routine exams. As many of you know, Spanky was our Alaskan brown bear who passed away last year at the age of 23. The grizzly cubs and Spanky’s prints, along with several other exciting bear items, will be ready for your bidding during Bear Awareness Days.

Remember to check our Web site May 8 through 11, 2008, to see our online auction items. Better yet, come on down to the Zoo and partake in the many fun activities we have planned. Hope to see you there!

Hali Anderson is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

Read Hali’s previous blog, Fish Treats for Grizzly Cubs…
Listen to an iZoofari chat with Hali about the grizzly boys…
Listen to iZoofari Chats about bears with keepers and researchers…

Help the Zoo’s bears and bear research in the wild by donating to our May 2008 Bear Wish List.

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Each year for this event, the San Diego Zoo tries to come up with fun and interesting auction items that the public can bid on. All of the money that we raise with these items goes towards supporting bear conservation. Auction items included bear paw prints and behind-the-scenes tours here at the Zoo. The auction begins on Monday, May 5.

So, have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at the Giant Panda Research Station? For this year’s event, we’re auctioning off a one-of-a-kind experience: a behind-the-scenes tour of the Panda Station. If you’re the highest bidder, you’ll meet with a panda keeper and get to tour our state-of-the-art research facility. You’ll learn all about how we care for our pandas, and you might even get to have a private viewing with one of them. During the tour, you’ll learn all about our ongoing research projects and how our research efforts are helping the conservation of this highly endangered species. A behind-the-scenes tour of Polar Bear Plunge is also being offered for auction!

So please come join us here at the San Diego Zoo during our Bear Awareness Days. It’s sure to be an exciting event with lots of fun opportunities to learn about bears and ways that you can help support their conservation needs. And be sure to check out this year’s auction items. If you’re a panda fan, I’d highly recommend bidding on the behind-the-scenes tour of the Panda Research Station or Polar Bear Plunge. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Pamela Crowe is a research technician for the San Diego Zoo.

Listen to iZoofari chats with our bear keepers and researchers…

Help the Zoo’s bears and bear research in the wild by donating to our May 2008 Bear Wish List.

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These same fat stores also help to insulate them from the harsh Arctic environment. It’s estimated that an adult polar bear needs approximately 43 ringed seal kills in order to sustain itself for a year. With a success rate of one seal catch every three to four days and a warming climate, this makes life very tough for the polar bears left in the wild.

Fortunately for Chinook, Kalluk, and Tatqiq, they live at the San Diego Zoo and don’t need to worry about hunting a seal for a meal or storing up fat. They get to eat year round and keep a slimmer, trimmer figure. For a polar bear in the wild, seals constitute about a 95 percent fat content diet; here, they get fed a more protein-based diet with only about 5 percent fat. If we allowed our bears to obtain the four inches of blubber they would normally need in the wild, they would not be well suited for our climate, and there would be more potential for overheating and health concerns. So we provide them with a variety of dry chows, fish, and what is known as zoo carnivore diet, which is a beef-based product. As with most carnivores, after a kill is made the bears consume the fur, tendons, bones, etc. To mimic this, we also offer rabbits and cow femur bones a few days a week.

All three bears get a tailored diet based on age, size, and requirements. They are fed this individually, as we do monitor their weights closely to keep them within a reasonable range. But they still go through natural tendencies to want to bulk up or feast during the hunting season. We accommodate this with vegetables. Yes, our bears love to eat their veggies! This provides them the opportunity to eat more without utilizing the calories as fat. It gives them a nice full feeling in their tummy, and the hard crunchy items help keep their teeth clean. The same behavior has been seen of bears in the wild when they’ve come across a nice bed of kelp. Some of you may think this wouldn’t sound appealing to a polar bear, but I have witnessed Kalluk walk right past a bone in order to get to a pile of carrots or a head of lettuce.

Now that you know what we feed our polar bears here at the Zoo, how would you like to share a breakfast with them? Of course, the menu would be a little different for you. We are offering a unique breakfast with the polar bears. You’ll get a special early morning experience out at Polar Bear Plunge, complete with enrichment for the bears and a keeper talk. Then you head over to pandas for another close encounter. And then it’s upstairs to the conference room at the Giant Panda Research Station for a hearty breakfast and an opportunity to speak one on one with some of the bear keepers who take care of these magnificent animals.

Kelly Murphy is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

Here’s more information about Polars, Pandas, and Pancakes…

Listen to an iZoofari Chat with Kelly…
Listen to iZoofari Chats about bears, featuring keepers and researchers…

Help the Zoo’s bears and bear research in the wild by donating to our May 2008 Bear Wish List…

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After Blackie passed his 30 day quarantine (see a blog from a hospital keeper, Manchurian Brown Bear is Back) and was given a clean bill of health, it was time to relocate him down to his new home. How does one transport a nearly 900-pound (400-kilogram) bear across the Zoo? With a crate and a forklift, of course! While staying at the hospital, Blackie’s keepers trained him to willingly enter the crate that we would be using for his move. He was rewarded with positive reinforcement such as yummy treats and enthusiastic “Good boys!” By the time move day came he was already used to his crate and he entered it with no problem. Then one of our teammates loaded his crate onto a forklift and drove him to the bedroom area of his new exhibit. Another forklift was waiting, and we used both to maneuver the crate into position so he could be unloaded. Blackie sat calmly in the crate through the entire ride and excitedly took peanut butter from a spoon, showing us that he was handling the move just fine.

After Blackie was released into the bedroom, we gave him some time to check out the new surroundings. We wanted to make sure he wasn’t stressed from the transport before giving him access to the exhibit. Well, this ol’ bear just ambled out of the crate, did some sniffing, and calmly waited for the next step. This told us that the new experience wasn’t a problem, so we opened up his exhibit door and out he came!

As Blackie entered his new exhibit, you could see his keen sense of smell taking in all of the new scents. Probably the strongest scents of interest were his neighbors, Scout and Montana, two yearling grizzly cubs. He spent a few minutes sniffing at the divider door, which caused the cubs to be on high alert, before moving on. He walks slowly these days, as he is 24 years old and a bit arthritic, but that didn’t stop him from heading straight for the big pool! In he went, as though he remembered it from his past, and contentedly soaked for a long while. After that, he did some playful splashing, seemingly having a wonderful time. One of his keepers from the past was there to watch him and thought that he appeared to remember the exhibit. I wouldn’t doubt it, since bears have amazing memories!

It’s been just over a week now since Blackie arrived, and I can tell you that he is a wonderful bear. He always comes into his bedroom when I call him and leaves when I open the door for him. Of course, the rewarding treats, such as fish, probably have something to do with it! He is very calm and we can hand-feed him (safely through the bars, of course) and he takes the food ever so gently. He is a bit overweight, so we are working on slowly reducing his diet. Losing some pounds will be better for his arthritic joints, and his new medication should also help. I’m looking forward to taking care of this incredible animal in his older years and have plans to spoil him with all the comforts and enrichment he deserves!

If you get a chance to come to the Zoo, be sure to check out Blackie in his new exhibit. You’ll surely be impressed with his huge size and dark chestnut color. What a bear!

Hali Anderson is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

Listen to an iZoofari Chat with Hali as she talks about Blackie’s first day in Bear Canyon…

Listen to iZoofari Chats about bears, featuring our keepers (including Hali) and researchers…

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This is the norm for panda cubs. With each of Bai Yun’s previous youngsters, we have seen them take to the trees at about six months of age. Once their climbing skills come on line, they remain ensconced in high branches for hours on end, and at about the 17th month of life they begin to spend more time on the ground. There are two factors which are driving this trend in their preference for high places: evolutionary history and dietary preferences.

After abandoning the den, the female panda forages far and wide for the bamboo she needs to meet her caloric requirements. Her youngster may not be able to keep up with mom as she traverses her habitat. As such, mom can probably reach her objectives quicker if the cub is stashed somewhere safe while she satiates herself. To this end, young panda cubs are often left alone by their mothers. In some cases, wild cubs have been noted as being left alone for more than 24 hours at a time.

Historically, panda cubs are at risk of predation by animals such as tigers, leopards, and martins. In order to reduce the likelihood of succumbing to predation, solitary cubs climb high and remain several meters above ground until their mother returns. This makes them a harder target, since their clumsy, slow gait on the ground would be easier pickings for a stealthy predator. Additionally, cubs spend hours and hours asleep up in those trees. When they are resting quietly in the branches, they can be hard to spot. Even our cubs, sleeping in trees pruned to allow for better visibility for our guests, can easily be overlooked.

Today, pandas have fewer predators than they did historically. Tigers are generally not found in what remains of panda habitat, and leopards are found in reduced numbers. But the drive to remain safe is still the same and is exhibited even in pandas housed in zoos and breeding centers.

Since young pandas rely on their mothers for their nutrition, they are able to fill their bellies with milk. It seems a bit unfair, but as mom is stuck ingesting low-calorie grasses, the cub enjoys a highly caloric meal with fats to aid in growth (and satiation!). In fact, when our nutritionist aided the Wolong staff in the development of a formula for hand-reared panda infants, the mixture was a hybrid of human and dog formula substitutes—a richer food source than many of you might have predicted given the bamboo-feeding tendencies of the panda mother. This appetite-quenching meal from mom can help keep cubs content for hours on end, allowing them to wait patiently for mother’s return from foraging bouts.

At about a year of age, panda cubs begin ingesting bamboo. Initially, the quantities ingested are very small and can’t account for much in the way of meeting caloric needs. But within a few months, some of the burden for satiating themselves shifts to the cubs and their new bamboo feeding skills. Perhaps their ever-increasing size requires more calories than mom can provide, or perhaps as maternal fat stores become depleted, this alters the caloric content of mother’s milk. Either way, cubs begin spending more time on the ground, increasing their time spent feeding and focusing more heavily on bamboo consumption.

This, of course, is in preparation for life on their own. When weaning occurs, the cub is well equipped to feed itself and meet its caloric needs without its mother. Even in the final days of mother-cub association, nursing may be occurring, but not at a high rate. At that point, most of the young panda’s nutrition is coming from direct ingestion of bamboo and other plant materials.

Zhen Zhen is nearly a year away from making that transition. She hasn’t even begun to ingest bamboo yet and won’t for several more months. Which is why she will continue to enjoy spending most of her time in the high perches of her enclosure. As frustrating as it may be for our Zoo guests or Panda Cam watchers to have limited visual access to our cub at times, we hope you will understand that this is a normal and healthy part of our little one’s life, and we would expect no less from her. She is showing us that, like her siblings before her, her panda instincts are right on track.

Suzanne Hall is a senior research technician with the San Diego Zoo’s Giant Panda Unit.

Note: Snow Day for pandas has been moved up to Sunday, April 27!

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