You’d think some famous celebrity had just moved into the hospital at the San Diego Zoo the way people have been coming up to visit. Actually, he’s better than a celebrity; he’s an old friend. If you visited the Zoo any time between 1986 and 1997, you might even remember him. His name is Huang Di, which means “king” in Chinese, but all his friends called him Blackie. He’s a Manchurian brown bear that was born at the Beijing Zoological Garden in 1984 and arrived at the San Diego Zoo when he was 2 ½ years old. Blackie resided at the Zoo from 1986 through 1997 (he is pictured here in 1996). Now, after 11 years in Tennessee at the Smokey Mountain Zoological Park, he’s back and presently serving his 30-day quarantine at the hospital.

Blackie is a beautiful bear. Although he is called a brown bear, his coat has a lustrous black color to it, hence his name. He weighs 873 pounds (396 kilos), and measures 4.5 feet (138 centimeters) from wrist to shoulders when on all fours. But once you see him standing on his hind feet, his size amazes you. He is clearly over 6 feet tall! He’s huge!

Although he is big, he is very gentle. He likes his romaine lettuce and apple slices and takes them delicately as you pass pieces through the fencing to him. But don’t get me wrong: he’s a bear. The other morning keeper Cathy had him locked over on one side of his enclosure while she cleaned the other. She began to place his food in a pile when Blackie suddenly stood up, banged the gate, and huffed! It was a loud and scary sound that sent everyone running into the compound to see what the commotion was all about. Blackie was telling Cathy that she needed to hurry along, but he was also reminding us that he was a bear and a wild animal. Once Cathy gave Blackie access to his second room where the food was, he calmly walked up to the food, took a few bites, and then stretched out in the sun for a nap. He had just made a statement that we all heard loud and clear!

Last week, Blackie had his quarantine exam, which consisted of a complete check up, X rays, and teeth cleaning. During his exam, we learned that he had a few cracked teeth (that were filled), some arthritis in his hind legs, and that he could stand to lose a few pounds. But over all he’s in good shape and not doing too shabby for a 24-year-old bear.

We took this opportunity to take a few measurements, too. Blackie measures almost 7 feet (207 centimeters) from the base of his head to his tail, his head is 1.8 feet (55 centimeters) long from his nose to the base of his head, his lower canine tooth measures 3.5 centimeters (that’s almost 1.5 inches), and his rear foot pad is 10.5 inches (27 centimeters). And one claw measured 2.5 inches (6 centimeters). That’s a big bear! We all thought he seemed much bigger than our old friend, Spanky.

We’re happy to have Blackie back. And once he finishes his quarantine time at the hospital, he’ll be back on Zoo grounds where all his old friends can see him again.

Yvette M. Kemp is a senior hospital keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

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