We will be celebrating Bear Awareness Days at the San Diego Zoo May 8 through 11, 2008 (see blog about Bear Awareness Days). This is a wonderful opportunity for you to visit the five bear species we house at the Zoo and hopefully take home some knowledge of their importance to the planet and what can be done to help save them from extinction. Our goal is to raise awareness about the bears of the world and to raise money to send to several bear conservation groups. One of our fund-raising efforts comes in the form of an online auction, where you will be able to bid on some one-of-a-kind items courtesy of the bears and their creative caretakers!

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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