Enrichment is a big part of what keepers do at most zoos these days. But did you know that it isn’t just the keepers who are involved in making enrichment opportunities for our animals? 

Determining the type of enrichment that an animal will get is a very big process. Kym Nelson mentioned in a past blog post that enrichment needs to be approved, and that is very true (see New View of Enrichment). So how does it work? 

First, the keeper comes up with an idea. That idea needs to fulfill various criteria: is this an item this species would use? Will it cause friction among the group if there is more than one animal? What behavior is the enrichment meant to encourage? Is it store-bought or will it need to be made? If so, what materials are involved? 
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The summer is just flying by—it’s hard to believe we are already into August! As promised, with the beginning of August we are once again looking into ultrasound exams with Chinook. Can it already be nine months since our last ultrasound? Last Friday we had an appointment with our veterinary staff to begin getting our beautiful bear back into the swing of things and, to be honest, get all of Chinook’s caretakers back into the routine as well. (more…)

The primary purpose of The San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research is to generate, share, and apply scientific knowledge vital to the conservation of animals and plants. Unfortunately, there are many species in need of this kind of attention, as the loss of biodiversity worldwide has reached crisis proportion. We may all be aware of this from media reports, but how do we actually know what the state of global biodiversity is? Who organizes and synthesizes this information on the world’s many species? (more…)

Having a tough time telling “who’s who” on the camera? Here are a few helpful identifiers:

First, now that breeding season is over, if you see two bears together most likely it is our siblings Kalluk and Tatqiq. They truly enjoy each other for playing and often times sleep in close proximity, especially on our beach! Chinook, it seems, is not joining the two this year for the summer frolic season. Instead, she is content with watching them and resting by a favorite pile of carrots. She also loves to sleep to the right side of the waterfall or out on the point.
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Why no Polar Cam? Have you looked recently? The Polar Cam has been replaced by a new HD camera system, and it looks so much better! And in keeping with our message of reducing our waste, the old camera will be reused in our Polar Bear Park (the new management yard behind the main polar bear exhibit)! We have been able to raise enough funds to add some cameras and the ability to pan-tilt-zoom! This will help us see where our bears are from inside the polar bear building and what antics our trio is up to. In addition—YES!—we will be installing an Internet hookup so that in the event Chinook has cubs, we will be able to show her den live on our Web site! With the installation of the cameras in the park, we will also be able to watch the bears in the pool. We are hoping to have all the work done by the beginning of July. We want to have lots of practice with it by the fall!
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Last week, a new couple moved into the Polar Bear Plunge neighborhood at the San Diego Zoo: a male and female Arctic fox. They are three years old and absolutely enchanting to get to know. The male is a polar phase, meaning he is completely white in his coloring, and the female is a blue phase, which means she has gray or black mixed with her winter white! We chose their names using the language of the Inuit and their fur colors; our male is Kaniq, or frost, and our female is Isiq, the word for smoke.
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Spring arrived at the San Diego Zoo’s Polar Bear Plunge a few days early this year. Chinook and Kalluk began breeding on March 17 and then abruptly stopped on March 24. Last year, the season lasted from February to June! Although it’s possible we could see more, we are not expecting it to be likely. Chinook’s behavior gives us no indicators like last year that she will cycle again, and even though Kalluk has shown some behavioral frustration, he has not shown any interest in Chinook for almost a month. So what could this mean?
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The variety of behavioral and physiological traits among the eight living bear species is amazing. On one extreme we have the giant panda, a relatively docile bear whose dependence on plant material has benefited from unique physiological features like a gripping pseudothumb and an enlarged sagittal crest on the skull that anchors the powerful jaw muscles needed to chew the bamboo. On the other extreme, we have the entirely carnivorous polar bear, with adaptations specialized for its frozen habitat: large size, big paws with gripping surfaces, and insulating fur that keeps the bear warm even when swimming in frigid water. In between these two species we have a range of bears with unique characteristics.
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Megan is doing polar bear field research in Alaska’s North Slope. Read her previous post, Field Note: Like a Heat Wave.

I spent the morning setting up sensitive microphones in the relative warmth of a “polar bear” den, which we dug ourselves. The floor of the den was about 2 meters (6.5 feet) below the surface of the snow. After I relayed the cable to a crew-member, I took a moment and sat on the floor of the den. I admired the construction of the den and the quiet, protected environment that we had created.
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When we talk about climate change, one of the first things we need to clarify is the difference between climate and weather. The term “climate” refers to the longer-term trends in atmospheric conditions that characterize a particular region. The term “weather” refers to what’s happening at the moment: the day-to-day atmospheric conditions in a particular location. For example, I can guess that right now, in San Diego, the weather is about 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius), and there is no rain. That description of the weather fits right into the climactic norms for San Diego in April. Right now, the weather at our field site on the North Slope of Alaska (see previous post, The Science of Shoveling Snow) is about -11.2 degrees Fahrenheit (-24 degrees Celsius), with light winds out of the northeast and no precipitation.
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