Brown Bear Welcomed
Posted at 11:46 am April 28, 2008 by Hali Anderson
April 17 was an exciting day for the San Diego Zoo’s Bear Canyon staff as we welcomed back an old friend. This friend, a Manchurian brown bear named Blackie, lived at the Zoo from 1986 through 1997 and has spent the last 11 years on loan at another facility. Now he has returned to us and we are so excited to have him!
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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April 28th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Thanks for the info, Hali. I saw Blackie for the first time yesterday and he certainly is a handsome fellow. He attracted a number of new fans!
April 28th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Blackie sounds like a great bear and you are lucky to have him back! I am thinking he is pretty lucky too, to be able to spend his sunset years at SDZ cuz as all us bloggers know, they have the greatest, most caring staff! I look forward to my next trip to SD (who knows when) to meet this big, handsome guy!
April 28th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
What a magnificent bear he is! Thanks for taking good care of this sweet boy…he so deserves to be pampered and loved!
April 28th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
I saw him! I saw him! Gentle giant was my impression of him. Looking forward to seeing more of him.
April 28th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Thanks, Hali, I agree with both #1 and #2 that Blackie and SDZ are both lucky to have each other. He has attracted a whole new fan club, and he gets to be spoiled. You get to interact with a calm elderly bear and study bear geriatrics. I hope he does remember being there before, and that he is happy to be back with his ” old” friends. Is he in exactly the same exhibit? If so, has it changed much? It sounds like it must be very familiar for him to know to saunter down for a good long leisurely soak as soon as he came outside. With the temperature up near 100 I am sure he was glad to have such a relaxing and cooling place to enjoy.
It will be interesting to hear more about Montana and Scout’s reactions to him being in the vicinity. What animal recently vacated the exhibit that opened it up for Blackie? It is great that you have the space and interest to take old friend’s back and provide them a secure and enriching home in which to live out their lives.
Kudos to all, and may you enjoy many more years of each other’s company.
April 28th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Mellow Blackie must be so pleased to return to a home where he apparently remembers happy times. He is a majestic bear. It was heartwarming to read about his gentle nature and easy acceptance of the changes in his environment. I wish him many happy years splashing in his pool and enjoying his treats. I hope you can relieve his arthritic pain. He sounds much too nice to suffer any aches.
April 28th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
What a terrific story! I just want to say how much I appreciate all you folks at the SDZ for your love and devotion to these wonderful animals. Blackie’s a lucky guy!!
April 29th, 2008 at 6:34 am
Hali, What a big handsome boy, even at his age he’s a real looker. I bet he is really happy to be home and he is lucky to have such a careing keeper to take care of him. I know that with your love and attention he has many happy years ahead of him. Thank You for taking such great care of all the animals in your care, you are truly a wonderful caring person.
April 29th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Hi Hali,
We stopped by all of the exhibits in Bear Canyon this past Saturday. Unfortunately we did not get to see Blackie. We will hopefully meet this gorgeous bear on our next visit. In his photos, Blackie is indeed a splendid looking bear.
We did, however, finally get to enjoy the antics of Montana and Scout, the adorable grizzly bears. They were having lots of fun chasing each other, wrestling and jumping in and out of the pool. We noticed both bears are very curious. Every once in a while they would suddenly stop and sniff the air. Wonder if Blackie’s scent was in the air?
It was a huge treat to witness these two young bears interacting especially on such a hot day.
Thanks for taking care of these wonderful animals. Your blogs are very interesting and enjoyable.
P.S. Stopped by to visit Sweet Otter and her pup. We saw the small den with hay in it, but no sign of mom or baby.
April 29th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Welcome back home to such a magnificent animal such as Blackie !! He looks like a gentle old soul !!
May 1st, 2008 at 6:58 am
Welcome home Blackie!
May 16th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
I’m so glad he setteld in his new home so quiqkly!
I had a question. How long do bears live and is blakies colering normal?
I hope you consider putting a live cam up so we can see him every day! I hope he likes his new neighbors!
May 19th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Blackie is wonderful! I was at the zoo two weeks ago and Blackie was sitting at the front of his enclosure. He was VERY interested as a cart containing leaves drove by and stopped by the grizzly exhibit next door while it was being cleaned. I walked by again about an hour later, and there was Blackie happily chomping on his own supply of leaves.