Rib meat!

Day 35.

Today was Valerie, Matt, & I. I love working with Valerie because she's so efficient that we are able to have some free time to relax. :) I told her this today and she thought it was a nice compliment!

First things first, wake up the Lions! They were all still laying down, but looking at us. Actually, Keeno is always standing up waiting for us, and everyone else is laying down. :) They all looked good, so we went to check fencelines and move their toys around in the yards (today's enrichment). They also got to go into each others' pens today (we switch them like twice a week to enjoy the other yard). When Sarabi was going out, she spotted Natasha (the oldest) and she quickly leapt through the door to get a good look at her, and they both stared and growled at each other. They are rival prides, so the girls hate each other! The boys would fight too, but they all know that their "pridelands" overlap, so they know each others looks and roars and smells. Pridelands overlap in the wild too, so this is not unusual.

We then made a stop at QB to pick up FOUR ribcages! These were to go to each Bear group (Grizzly boys, Alaskan Coastal girls, young Blacks, older Blacks) Our first stop from there was the Brown Bear hut to wake them up, then toss out each ribcage. Some guests were already driving through, so they got to see us carry and toss a ribcage into the Bears' yards, then the Bears come out of their huts and enjoy the ribcages. :) Valerie allowed us to stay and watch the fun for about 10 minutes. The Bears loved sharing their treat! The boys were clustered around theirs, and the girls were politely sharing theirs.

Before cleaning the hut (which they'd just vacated) we went to drop off the ribcages for the Black Bears. The young group (Takoda, Donna, & Chochmo) all went to investigate right away, then Donna ended up trying to claim it for her own and drag it into the hut. We watched and it got stuck at the door, but later in the day we noticed that she'd succeeded in getting it inside. :) I hope she shared! Then we tossed the older Black Bears' (Little Girl, Little Boy, Ricky) into their yard. None of them came out to see what it was! Huh! But later in the day we did see Ricky out there chewing on it for a little while.

After all of that fun, Matt & I cleaned the Brown Bear hut & the Lion hut speedily before taking our lunch. I went off alone to eat with my book. I like relaxing alone at lunch! Matt did come find me near the end, which I don't mind, but I do enjoy my alone time since I have to be there for 11 hours of the day!

After lunch Matt went to give the Bear Tower volunteer a break, and Valerie & I drove a group of people out to do a Big Bear encounter. She let me do the presentation and the training. I still get nervous before, especially when a keeper is going to watch me, but I am getting very good at this! I introduced myself and then all of the Brown Bears- names, ages, species type, muscle humps for digging, claws, weights. Then I told the people about how "Big Bear" was invented by Oso and we put a command with it so we could see their bodies, but also have fun. After the presentation it was time to show the training- but all of the boys were sleeping in the shade of their structure! It was too hot for them to be interested! OH NO! I called them a few times and clicked my clicker a bunch. Finally Mak came over and did a few "Big Bear"s for us. Valerie kept trying to call the other two over while I did my training with Mak. Victor ended up wanting some donuts too, so he came over and did some "Big Bear"s too. :) Oso was just a lazy boy, and he only came over at the VEEERY end and got some crumbs. This was just like yesterday! haha. Valerie thought we might feed them a little lighter portions if they seem so uninterested in their food treats. Oh well.

We headed to QB to make all of the Bear meals. Our produce supply is running out, and we didn't get a very good donation last night (lots of potatoes which the Bears don't like- so we give those to Elephants who DO like them). We had some dried berries, which are usually used for treats for the Bears, but we had to use them for the meals! Lucky Bears! We took the Brown Bear meals into their hut and set them up in their rooms, then drove to the Black Bear exhibit to throw out their dinners for them. We don't want the birds eating everything, so we put all of the berries in any boxes we had. Most are tv dinner boxes, and a few were candy boxes! haha! After we'd thrown it all out to them, and were walking away, they were all eating and Little Boy looked up at us with a Milk Duds box hanging from his mouth! CUTE! ^_^ Oh, we also threw in a bowling ball as a new toy and Ricky & Little boys both pawed at it and sniffed it. I'm sure they'll enjoy it later. :)

The next thing to do was put the Lions to bed and feed them, but it wasn't time for that yet since the last car had not driven through yet. SOOO, Valerie decided it was time for an ice cream break and offered to buy Matt & I one each! How very nice of her! The cafe has a nice selection of scooped ice cream, but I ended up choosing Cookies & Cream cuz it's Nicks' fave! We sat and enjoyed those for about 30 min! So relaxing.

Finally the last car went through, so we went to put the Lions to bed and feed them. They each get a toy in their room, and Matt had given Natasha the '1/2 boomer ball'. It's a large plastic ball, but only a half of it (they broke it long ago). Matt placed it right under the food chute, hoping the meat hunk would land in it like a bowl. It DID, and after lying down to think about it for a minute, Natasha finally got up to check out what was for dinner. Then she picked up the "bowl" and moved it to the back of the room where she laid down again. It reminded me of Shlomit, claiming her food. Natasha usually waits to eat her dinner though. She knows no one can take it, so she takes her time. :) Cutie old woman! (She's 20 and captive Lions live around 20-25 years old). OH, I don't know if I mentioned it, but July 15 was Keeno's 18th Bday! Happy Belated Bday, Keeno!

The final part of the day came and we went to close the gates and let Brown Bears into their hut for the night. The Grizzly boys wouldn't come in! They took so long that Valerie decided to "clear the canyon", making sure there were no guests left in "America". On that drive we saw the "Enchanted Elk" in their forest, and listened to the radio. "Wish" came on and made me think of when Alex sings it! ^_^ ^_^ ^_^

We got back to the hut and the boys finally, and slowly, made their way in for dinner and bedtime. And that was the end of our day at the park!

Bye for now...