I had to make peanut butter pinecones for the Bear’s enrichment the other day and tried something a little different. I rolled the peanut butter pinecones in shredded carrots, added just a few raisins and drizzled with a little honey. Gus Bear loved them! The grass was too high that day for me to get a good picture of him eating them though.
Bear Enrichment
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One Sunday morning while checking on all the Explore the Wild animals I couldn’t tell if there was one or two bears sleeping in the bear cave. So I used our visitor camera at overlook and zoomed in to check it out. Then I saw the cutest thing- Mimi was spooning Gus! Super cute and it brought a great big smile to my face first thing in the morning.
Here are a couple photos of bears having fun.
Gus and Yona playing, Gus is standing
Gus playing with his feet- classic
Mimi is so sweet to Gus! Very very cute!!!
love the pictures Thank you for posting
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Tell me what you notice when looking at the weight charts of our bears. (I find the graphs fascinating!)
Very cool!
Mimi and Virginia have a pattern that’s pretty stable but the youngsters are growing consistently. I’m not expert but I’d say that seems pretty healthy.
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Katy was training the bears last week and got them all to their station. YAY KATY for having your camera to document the feat. Each bear has a specific station (stump) that they are supposed to go to. Katy’s been working hard to get the bears to their specific station, and to have all four bears at their specific station at the same time is awesome!
all four bears at their station at the same time!
Can you name the bears, from left to right? (Sorry Katy, you know the answers so let others chime in first).
That’s a hard one. You’re asking us to ID them by their rumps. I’m going to say Mimi, Virginia, Gus and Yona.
Well done Katy!
Great Job Katy!! Awesome picture as well. I know Virginia’s stump so I won’t guess yet.
I think I’m going with Ginny, Mimi, Gus, and Yona.
Virginia, Mimi, Gus and Yona?
And that really is awesome, Katy! Its great that you managed to get the picture, but its also funny how it really is either a butt or side shot for everyone.
Nicely done, Katy! 
Thank you everyone. I’m so proud of the bears! Especially Gus!!! This behavior has been confusing for him.
This is a great picture!! Wonderfully took!! I like it!
Wow good job!
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Hi everybody! Hope you guys are doing well, I am all kinds of fine and ducky, thanks for asking! For this post, we’re going to have a bit of a game. Now, I know you guys are all aware of my intellectual awesomeness, but now I’m going to give you a bit of a test. Ever play those “What doesn’t belong” games when you were a kid? Well here it is in blog form! I’m going to write a fun little blog post. And there will be an undetermined number of mistakes in it. your job is to go ahead and find them!
Opossum and young
For instance, I may be talking about opossums. And I say “Opossums are wonderful arboreal mammals. They have a prehensile tail, a great sense of smell and are one of only two marsupials that live in North America naturally.” What about that statement is wrong? Their tail IS prehensile, they DO have a great sense of smell and they ARE arboreal. The wrong fact is where I said they are ONE OF TWO marsupials in North America. Actually, they are the only species of naturally occurring marsupial on this continent. You guys got it? Find my mistakes and catch my errors – enjoy my friends!
So it’s almost spring time (sorta). Some days it’s freezing and rainy, others it’s almost 80 degrees and sunny. But even if the weather can’t seem to make up it’s mind, the animals already have. Anyone who was getting a little lazy with the coming of the colder weather is definitely starting to bounce back. Henry our Woodchuck has been eating more of his daily diet, plus is much more active. All four of our bears are out and moving for more time during the day instead of sleeping in the cave or on the cliff and only rousing themselves at meals or training times. Of course none of our reptiles were affected too much by the winter season. They all live inside in a climate controlled room. So both the native and the exotic species fared wonderfully. From the Banded Water Snake to the Asian Bearded Dragons, our cold blooded friends didn’t miss a beat. And everyone in our Farmyard is also doing just great. Time for some of them to shed though!
March is also a fun Month of novelty days. And not just for animal stuff. Just to name a few, March 3 is “If Pets had Thumbs Day”, March 9 is “Panic Day” -All I can say is “Danger! Danger Will Robinson!”, March 12 is “Plant a Flower Day”, March 14 is “Learn about Butterflies Day”, March 19 is “Poultry Day”, March 22 is “Give a Calzone to a Zookeeper Day”, & March 28th is Something on a Stick Day (I recommend some kind of meat, preferably wrapped in bacon. Like a corndog, but better!)
Also, with the coming of spring many of our outdoor species are beginning to pop up again. Ranger Greg has been sighting more and more species in the wetlands and around the rest of the park. The past few days of warm weather have started many aquatic turtles sunning on the rocks, a number of waterfowl are enjoying the Explore the Wild area, and I have been finding Bullfrogs in the bear filter baskets again each morning. I know this is just the beginning. Soon we’ll have all the bugs out (oh, and Aaron found the first ticks of the season in the Wolf yard the other day! Marilyn is so thrilled!), the trees will be blooming and the we’ll be getting calls to go out and move snakes from the paths. If they’re the usual rat snakes we usually just let them go on their way, but sometimes we have to move the poisonous copperheads to a different location so they’re out of visitor range. You’re all welcome!
Turtles do love soaking up some UV rays!
By the way… if you keep up with my earlier posts, it seems Katy has struck again! Definitive proof that she is too environmentally minded and attempting to recycle our animals!
The Woodchuck got chucked!
A very large sewer rat has somehow gotten into our department... I feel like I'm back in the Bronx...
And while the above picture may look like Galileo is getting into the trash himself, don’t be fooled! He’s being coerced from off camera! His breakfast is being held hostage!
Okay Guys and Dolls, it’s time for me to pack this one in. I’m going to go and close up, tuck the animals in for the night and make sure all is right with things. Plus, I have to feed the alligators before we start. They’re growing well, just about up to eating whole capybaras now See how many mistakes you can find and I’ll put up the answers soon. Until next time!
P.S.- The Loch Ness Monster exists! 
This is a really cute pic!! Where did you find it?
Hey Gabriella,
Depends on which picture you’re talking about- some came from us taking them at the mueum and some came from Google
I love the pic when the woodchuck got chucked!! That one is funny! Any more animals in the trash yet?;)
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I got an email from Larry pointing me in the direction of a neat article about brown bears using tools! Check it out- it’s pretty interesting.
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One of my favorite duties as an Animal Keeper is training with the Ring Tailed Lemurs. We train many of the animals at the museum using operant conditioning. When I first started here, I was familiar with training, I used positive reinforcement for several animals at my previous job- a Serval, African Crested Porcupine, Binturong, several birds including large Macaws, a Raven, Crow, Hawks and Owls.
Serval
Binturong
Even Rats- But it wasn’t until working here at the Museum that I really got into Operant Conditioning. We use training for 3 reasons- husbandry, enrichment, and bonding.
Husbandry – anything having to do with taking care of that animal. Shifting between areas, vet care, travel (crate or trailer) etc
Enrichment- let’s face it these animals live in the same place all the time, training allows them to move, think, react, predict, interact with other animals. They are using tons of physical and mental energy during training sessions.
Bonding- if an animal is sick, injured, or, in the rare case, has escaped- their trainer would be the first to respond and hopefully have a strong enough bond with that animal so that help can be provided.
Can you see Jill's hand signal and clicker?
Each Keeper here trains a group of animals
Katy- Bears (4)
Mikey- Bears (4)
Marilyn- Red Ruffed Lemurs (3)
Kimberly- Ring Tailed Lemurs (3)
Jill- Pigs (2)
Sarah- Donkey and little goats (3)
Kent- Steer and big goat (2)
Mikey training Gus bear for our training consultant Julie Grimes
And each animal has been trained to do different behaviors. The Ring Tailed Lemurs for example have learned the following- scale, up, down, left hand, right hand, touch, jump, follow, off, here, come, target, crate. Chummix may know the behavior “come” but Kent may have a completely different hand signal for it than I do for the ring tails.
Cassandra during a training session
Below are a couple older blog posts about training-
Marilyn’s post about training Chummix- here
Kristen’s post with video of Cassidy training- here
Larry’s post shows Yona’s first session with Katy- here
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From left to right: wolf exhibit, bear exhibit, farmyard exhibits, lemur exhibit.
Anyone who has been in the animal keeping profession knows that part of the job includes the unfortunate task of pulling trash out of the animal exhibits. On some level it is expected that a random object will occasionally be found in an animal’s enclosure, due to a visitor accidentally dropping something and not being able to recover it (please don’t try to retrieve the item yourself!). However, we have noticed the amount of trash in the exhibits increase significantly over the last couple of years.
By far, we find the most trash in the farmyard exhibits.
Keeper Katy focuses in the vet area of the animal department, so she is notified whenever anything is found in an exhibit so that we can put a “watch” on the animal for behavioral changes in case it ingested part of the item/food/trash. Since the keepers started finding items more frequently, Katy decided to start saving all the trash to see just how much was collected over the course of 2011.
The amount of trash in these pictures might astonish you, but what’s even more astonishing is that Katy didn’t start saving the items until the Spring of 2011. So there’s a good four months worth of trash not included in these pictures. On top of that, there were times that the keepers forgot to keep the items for Katy, so those weren’t added to the bags either. I know there were at least three occasions where I forgot to save the trash for Katy, and I threw it away after pulling it from the enclosure.
The contents in this picture are a prime example of why we don't allow balloons on grounds. The outcome could have been very bad if one of our bears had ingested the helium balloon you see in the bag on the right.
There are times when a visitor accidentally drops something in an exhibit and they find a museum staff member to let them know. This is the best thing to do because the staff member will radio the keepers, and it allows us to remove the article from the exhibit as soon as possible.
Above: Here’s a closer look at some of the items we found in the farmyard. The mangled Mountain Dew can you see to the right came from the donkey and goat yard, and clearly it had been chewed on and ripped up by one or all of them. Worrisome for the keepers!
Here’s my personal favorite, and it was found in Lightning the donkey’s stall one morning. Unfortunately it was mixed in with some of his hay and could have been ingested fairly easily. It’s a hair attachment with feathers, and Kent saved this one and has it hanging up above his desk.
It’s nice to see that when our visitors are eating chips and drinking soda, they are trying to be healthy about it. However, these items are not healthy for our animals, even if they are “baked” or “diet”!
Katy has already started collecting exhibit trash for 2012, so watch for the blog post in early 2013 to see what we collected over the course of this year.
It’s not just things being dropped in that are worrisome. Some of our animals will steal things from guests right off the railings or even from their hands! I rescued many applesauce coated toddler spoons from the donkey and goats last summer and the pigs have stolen plastic snack baggies right through the fencing. I like to ask guests to stand an arms’ length away from the fences if they have food or drinks, just to be safe.
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Hi everybody!
Now the time has come once again for the tank tops, flip flops and short shorts to get packed up again for the season (that’s okay, I don’t look so good in short shorts anyway). The end of fall is gone and we’re officially into winter. The weather has been remarkably warm for this time of year, but we’re past Thanksgiving have even knocked out the big holiday part of the year. That’s right, the buy Mikey presents and give him Stuffed Shells to eat time! The tree can come down and the mistletoe can be packed up (ladies, don’t let that stop you), and sadly, it’s the end of novelty Christmas songs for another year. I have watched all my holiday feel-good TV programs and drunk about 9 gallons of Egg Nog Oh yes, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. But not everything is worked up and as excited as we are. In fact, some of our animals here are downright un-excited about this time of the year. Winter isn’t for everyone it seems, and every species we have reacts differently to it. Some eat less, some get sleepy, and some wear ridiculous singing hats (oh wait, that’s the staff!) But even though our guys aren’t in the wild anymore, we still try to replicate their natural habits as much as possible.
So a huge question that I and the rest of the staff answer at pretty much every bear program is “Do they hibernate here?” The question is no. Our big kids don’t undergo true hibernation. It doesn’t get nearly cold enough to really knock them down, they just get really lazy. They’ve spent the last few months really packing on the pounds so that they need to eat very little to subsist. They still get fed three times a day, but it’s a smaller amount of food than in the summertime. But even though they are a little on the low energy side, the bears still get up to grab snacks here and there. Especially Gus – he’s always up to train or get treats. Him and MiMi take up residence in the cave to laze about, while Virginia and Yona usually stay up on the cliff. So not hibernating, but a good bit of extra sleeping happens.
This is a pic from a past year of Virgina coated in snow
My camera doesn't have the best zoom, but you can see MiMi coming out of the cave to visit me for treats, while Gus is still lounging inside
As for the Lemurs, nothing goes differently with the Red Ruffed since they live completely indoors in climate control. But the Ringtails who have yard access when it is 40 degrees and up, lose their outside privileges when it gets too cold. They have 4 inside stalls to run amok in, but when it’s too cold for our tropical non-monkey primates (that’s for you Kimberly!) they stay in the nice warm building and get extra toys and enrichment to play with so they aren’t bored.
Those crazy Ringtails!
You know, one day I would like Lemur snuggle time in a hammock!
The bunch in the Farmyard are some tough kids. They endure the cold weather with a minimum of change. The pigs get a more enclosed den to shelter in, the bigger animals get their top stall doors closed to help with wind and Max our steer could care less. As long as he is fed on time, then nothing else bothers him in the least. Scout our duck will get closed in his inside stall on the nights below 30 degrees, as will the bunnies who also have a heat lamp. Our program Birds of Prey get some plastic covering to shield them from the elements as well as heated perches to keep them a little warmer.
The new and improved winter pig shelter
As long as the food keeps coming, Max doesn't care. Although his coat does get shaggier for the winter
Scout can handle all but the coldest temperatures - He's one tough bird!
Most of the Carolina Wildlife animals remain unaffected by the seasons change because they are in a climate controlled building. But our woodchuck Henry seems to want to knock down and hibernate for the winter this year. He’s gotten increasingly sluggish as the season gets on, he eats a lot less and spends most of his time sleeping (I’m jealous). At least I have a better chance of not being bitten for a few months.
Usually he does this in his nest...
That’s just a small portion of our animals, but since the majority of our bunch is NC natives, they all have various adaptations to make it through the cold months of the year. As for me, I’m a northern transplant. Well adapted, mind you…but I still take certain measures when the cold temps set in. I use it as an excuse to drink lots of hot cocoa, wear my comfy fleece vest, and of course nothing warms you up like a steaming calzone with cheese still bubbling out…Mmmmmmmmm…..
Excellent Mikey! Well done! Except, now I want a nap….after a nice dose of cheesy italian food!!
Thanks! And your reaction is as it should always be! Nothing better than a nice Italian food coma to bring on a good nap time!
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Really cute video of Gus playing in the hay a couple weeks ago. Sorry it’s not the best quality- you never have the best camera with you when you need it. (the quality is better if you do not maximize the screen).
It’s so great to see Gus having such a great time!
That is SO funny and entertaining:)
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It’s like carrot cake but with pine cones!
Let me know the next time you give these to the bears. I’d love to come down and watch!
The next time the bears are scheduled to get peanut butter pine cones is Wed the 23rd. I’m off that day but I believe Aaron will be working in ETW- give him a radio call in the a.m.