Grizzly Bears: Terrible Twos?
Posted at 12:46 pm February 20, 2009 by Hali Anderson
Montana takes a playful bite at Scout
For starters, while Scout and Montana’s relatives are nestled snuggly in their winter dens, our boys have been very busy! It seems that the slight drop in our temperatures, although nothing compared to their native Idaho, has decreased their appetite. And when a bear isn’t as interested in food foraging, he has more free time for other things. Our grizzly boys have been super playful lately. Scout (pictured above), in particular, has been quite the play instigator. He runs around and around the exhibit, pouncing on Montana and encouraging him to partake in the chase. If Montana doesn’t go for it, Scout will twist and turn his head in the air as if to say, “Come on, Montana! Let’s play!” Montana usually can’t resist his brother, and off they will go, running and wrestling until they are completely pooped out.
Both boys have been swimming a lot, too. Montana especially loves the water and enjoys dragging palm fronds, ginger leaves, or pieces of bark into the pool with him. When he’s not active in the water, he can sometimes be seen fastidiously cleaning his long claws while lounging in the pool. Neither bear can touch the bottom of the pool at its deepest, which is usually not a problem. However, one day Scout dropped his cow femur bone into the pool, much to his extreme disappointment! He ran around that pool over and over again, stopping to peer over the side at his prize too many feet down. He kept running into the pool and splashing around but just couldn’t figure out how to dive down for the bone. Some brown bears in the wild have adapted to diving, but not so in Scout’s case. Several onlookers felt sorry for Scout and asked me if I could give him another bone. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a spare bone for him, but I explained that this was actually an enriching experience for him. Even though he was frustrated, Scout had to use his brain to try to get the bone. He wasn’t able to figure out that he could dive, but he did learn to be more cautious with his bones in the future!
Both Scout (pictured at right) and Montana, like most bears, are very attentive to their sleeping nests. Every day when I enter their exhibit to clean, I am witness to the past evening’s activities. Brown bears are excellent diggers, and Scout and Montana are no exception, creating round indentations about 24 inches by 12 inches deep or more. The beds are usually right next to each other and often lined with materials ranging from Bermuda hay, bark, ginger, and pine to cardboard, shredded paper, shredded palm fronds, etc. One day this week, I laughed so hard as I saw the beds were perfectly lined with collard greens! With their decreased appetites, I guess they decided to make good use of the part of their food they weren’t planning on eating!
So, turning two actually hasn’t been terrible, as Scout and Montana continue to be delightful, playful, roly-poly brown bears. If you haven’t made it to Bear Canyon lately, you may want to plan a visit soon during this especially active time. And on March 19 and 20, as part of Discovery Days: Bear Bonanza, Scout and Montana will be starring in a mock campsite skit as we attempt to educate visitors on the importance of clean camping in bear country. All of our six bear species will be highlighted during the event that goes from March 19 to 22. It will include snow for the polar bears, keeper and researcher talks, plenty of enrichment for the bears, and an assortment of great family entertainment and activities. It should be lots of fun; I hope you can make it!
Hali Anderson is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.
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February 20th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Scout and Montana have always been a rowdy twosome and glad to see that they are so happy in their new home at SDZ. Wonder if they miss their mommy though.
February 21st, 2009 at 12:40 am
Thanks for another great blog and the new info for us, Hali. I know that guests aboard our tours absolutely love seeing these two boys. A genuine highlight for everyone!
February 21st, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Will Scout and Montana hibernate this year?
Moderator’s Note: Since the weather in San Diego is mild, and our bears have no food shortage during the winter, our bears do not go into a winter sleep.
February 21st, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Hali, your post was funny as well as informative. those two brothers sound like they are a hoot! rowdy and full of mischief and lots of energy! they are still young and we all know what the young are like!!!! it sounds as though you are enjoying their day to day activities too. I didn’t realize that they made a special place to sleep at night. in the wild, I know they retreat to a den in the winter. I learned something new!
I guess animals like a comfy place to sleep just as we do. your information about the femur bone falling into the water and the lack of a diving skill was really quite funny. I will be looking forward to your next post. ( don’t forget! )
February 21st, 2009 at 7:20 pm
very funny story about the bone…is there a bear cam in the future?
February 22nd, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Happy belated birthdays to Scout and Montana. How enterprising of them to line their nests with their food! Saves getting up when you want a midnight snack. Maybe one day Scout will discover how to get his bone back.
February 22nd, 2009 at 10:56 pm
I was there that day when Scout lost his bone! It was fun watching him run around the exhibit trying to get the bone. Then he tryed to steal Montana’s bone. By the way Adam, you’re a very good bus tour guide.
February 28th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Very awesome blog! The San Diego Zoo keepers do an awesome job with the animals!
April 20th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Please make note of the sign at the Grizzly Bear exhibit. The information it provides neglects to mention that Canada whatsoever which in it’s over 5.6 million square miles has more habitat than it’s smaller neighbor, the United States. One of the books that can be purchased in your own gift shop shows this. If that isn’t enough talk to anyone from Alaska about Grizzly Bears.
I hope this is useful.
Moderator’s note: Our Interpretations team says that the grizzly bear panel is on their “to do” list for updating. Thank you.
July 22nd, 2009 at 3:17 pm
I was at the zoo on Monday, and Scout dropped his bone into the pool again! He made a beeline for the pool before Montana could get there, and spent several minutes trying to figure out how to retrieve his precious bone. He had it in his paws at one point, then he dropped it and had to go after it again. Finally, he made it out of the pool with his prized possession and was careful to keep it away from his brother. Hooray for Scout! No more lost bones in the pool!