Tag Archive: Bear Woods


 

While I don’t like to dwell on our extended winter weather, this is what the first half of the month of April 2018 looked like in Marshfield, Wisconsin at Wildwood Zoo.

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Even Munsey and Boda were looking forward to the snow melting and the fresh green grass and tender leaves emerging from the buds on the trees!

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While I enjoy watching Munsey and Boda climb the tree’s in the Bear Woods, I’m ready for them to stop their climbing for safety reason’s. That’s 850 pounds of Kodiak bear up in that little tree!

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On April 19th the weather began warming up and the pond in the Bear Woods no longer was ice covered, which allowed Munsey and Boda to enjoy swimming and water wrestling once again.

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A favorite pastime for Munsey is finding a rock from the pond and trying to place it on the bridge of his nose and flip it into the air, while trying to catch it in his paw.

 

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Munsey has practiced and refined his rock throwing techniques over the past two years and I have seen him successfully flip that rock into the air and smack it a couple of feet across the pond.

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Meanwhile Boda is examining  a large log floating in the pond.

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I believe that Munsey has put in his application in maintenance management control, hoping to regulate the water distribution throughout the Bear Woods and JP Adler Kodiak Bear Habitat Exhibit.

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The overflow from the large upper pond, allowed standing water for Munsey and Boda to enjoy.  The extra water also created an opportunity for frogs and other small creatures to thrive in that area as well.  So Munsey would spend hours pacing back and forth  creating a deep muddy path, while hoping to capture a little creature that might happen to come his way!aDSC_4778 boda

Where there is a spout, there is water, regardless how far out of reach it might be for these guys!

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This selection of photographs were taken on my birthday.  I spent about an hour watching Munsey and Boda relaxing in the JP Adler Kodiak Bear Habitat area and then splash around in the pond located in the Bear Woods. Munsey’s weight is about 760 lbs. and Boda’s weight is about 840 lbs.

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The video clip above depicts Munsey, Boda and Dodge after they were rescued on Kodiak Island and taken to the Zoo in Anchorage.

The photographs (above the video clip)  were taken shortly after the cubs arrived at the Wildwood Zoo in Marshfield Wisconsin.

The video link below explains the rescue story of Munsey, Boda and Dodge and includes photographs of when the cubs were first rescued.  I also recommend that you check out the two links that are provided with this video, to learn about the Grand Opening and other information about the rescue of the Kodiak Bear Cubs.

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The link below is a video of Munsey and Boda’s first Birthday party that was celebrated at Wildwood Zoo in Marshfield, Wiscosnin.

Tree climbing is a favorite pass time for the cubs. Here are two video clips of Munsey and Boda climbing the tree’s.  The first video is of the cubs climbing in October 2015 and the other two video’s depict the cubs climbing the tree’s in April of 2017.

 

 

Munsey and Boda have a brother Dodge that lives at the To

ledo Zoo in Ohio. Dodge has bonded with two female Grizzly cubs.  To learn more about Dodge, go to the follwing links below.

http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2016/03/02/3-bears-orphaned-in-wild-find-Toledo-Zoo-home-is-just-right.html

 

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=773

 

http://www.13abc.com/content/news/Rescued-brown-bears-on-exhibit-at-the-Toledo-Zoo-383093881.html

 

 

 

 

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Here are a list of new video’s to view on Munsey and Boda!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdg6vB0KO9c

During the Winter months Munsey and Boda seem to be more interactive more frequently , then they are during the Summer months.  I’m sure with that Winter coat of fur, they are very comfortable in the winter season.

Notice the difference in the weight and growth of the Kodiak cubs since Feb. 15th, 2016 to Dec. 4th, 2016.  The Munsey’s  weight was 185 lbs. and Boda’s weight was 192 lbs. in Feb. 2016 . On Dec. 4th, Munsey weighs 460 lbs. and Boda weighs 495 lbs.

On Tuesday October 18th, Munsey and Boda had a grand time playing with a fire hose that was given to them by the Wildwood Zoo staff.  The cubs swam in the deep pool area that is located in the JP Adler Kodiak Bear Habitat area.  I was amazed as Munsey  demonstrated his ability to swim in the 13 feet of water for over 30 minutes, while  attempting to retrieve a section of the fire hose that had sunk to the bottom of the pool.dsc_9245_6803

In the photograph below, Munsey is swimming with the fire hose that retrieved from the bottom of the pool.

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The second section of the fire hose also sank to the bottom of the pool and to my surprise Munsey  was able to retrieve that second section of hose. From my observation it appears that Munsey  was learning to hold his breath a little longer with every attempt he made as he submerged his face into the water.  It will be interesting to see if he masters this skill in the future.

 

Some of the staff from the Baraboo Zoo stopped in to learn more about the JP Adler Kodiak Bear Exhibit, and view the Floyd & Pat Hammus Bear Bridge  and the Bear Woods.

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If your planning a trip to visit Wildwood Zoo in Marshfield and want to see the cubs in action,  I’d recommend that you come between 9:30 am to 11:30 am. The cubs have their breakfast around 9:00-9:30 am, afterwards the zoo staff  will usually hide some fruit and vegetable snacks for the cubs to find.  It’s always fun to watch the cubs go on a scavenger hunt for their snacks!

The cubs are served their lunch around 12:30-1:00 pm. After lunch the bear door is unlocked and the bears can go in and out as they wish, which means they could choose to take an afternoon nap inside the bear building. (If you find them napping, remember they are only 20-21 months old and they need their rest because they’re still growing.  The cubs are now about 410 and 433 pounds, the cubs are considered mature at around five years of age.)

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The tall center door located in the JP Adler Kodiak Bear Exhibit is designed specifically for Munsey and Boda.  This door gives the cubs the ability to enter and exit the bear building.  This door is also unlocked on the weekends.

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Steve Burns (head zookeeper at Wildwood Zoo) brings a pail of fruit to the observation window and requests a little girl to assist him by ringing a  cow bell.

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During your visit please remember to donate a few dollars to help support the Zoo. You can find the collection canisters stationed at each of the zoo entrances.

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