No, I did not go find a whole bunch of bears in the woods... I found them in a former pulp mill. Let me explain.
Fortress of the Bear is a rescue center for orphaned and abandoned brown bear (commonly known at the Grizzly) cubs. It is the current policy that if a cub's mother dies or abandons them, they are to be euthanized because those cubs are more likely to become problem bears. Instead of accepting this practice, Les (the owner/operator) tried to come up with his own solution. He spent several years trying to get the government to let him buy the abandoned pulp mill (the storage tanks have since been adapted to act as habitats) and many more years fighting the state to get a permit that would allow him to keep bears.
Now, before you start to think how an old pulp mill may be inhumane, let me assure you that I am completely convinced that these bears have it better than some of the ones in zoos. These former tanks are approximately 20,000 square feet compared to the 4,800 square foot requirement for zoos. Also, as tanks, they are round and obviously have no corners, so the bears can walk and walk and walk without ever running into a corner and being forced to turn around. All in all, I think these bears are very happy; they're alive with no stresses from resource, mating, or habitat competition. If they weren't here, they would have been killed.
Ok, moving on from my defensive soapbox, promise. Now, I gotta say, these bears are hilarious and adorable. There are two sets of siblings here in two separate enclosures. The first enclosure is home to two brothers (I can't remember their names) who are about 6 years old. Their mother was killed in a fish camp up north after becoming a problem bear and chasing the cook into the cook house. What struck me most about these two bears was their striking resemblance to Charlie, Jake's dog. Their most prominent facial feature is their nose which is massive, just like Charlie. They also play wrestled for a good half hour while an employee told me all about the Fortress and how these bears came to be here.
(yes, that is a tomato, he really likes them!)
The other three bears are also siblings; two boys and a girl. The boys are neutered but apparently haven't realized it yet, as they still are trying to establish who is dominant. Their names are Toby, Lucky, and Baloo. I was lucky enough to get there right when one of the bear keepers was putting food into their enclosure. They actually go about it in a really neat way so as to keep the bears as mentally stimulated as possible. The bears are put into a separate, smaller enclosure while the bear keeper goes into their large enclosure and hides food (fruits and veggies and meat) all over the place so the bears have to find it. The bears are then let back in to eat. Today they had a delicious meal of strawberries, watermelon, salmon, and oranges.
Somebody found peanut butter under all those strawberries and didn't want to miss a bit!
And knows how to sign asking for more!
Trying to get the last of the avocado. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it! :)
My personal favorite sign ever!
We also had some feathered friends come join us and the owner decided to give them some salmon too. Bonaparte (the mature bald eagle) is apparently a regular who likes his salmon fillets cuts up into small pieces.
So that was my adventure today! And I couldn't have been more pleased with it. I want to go back on a sunny day, so keep those fingers crossed!
