Taking a stroll with Ted and fresh cedar mulch.
Bear weights:
Ted – 585
Lucky – 452
Holly – 247
Tasha – 295
Fun fact: All bears have 42 teeth except the sloth bear. The sloth bear has only 40. Does anyone know why the sloth bear only has 40 teeth instead of 42? No cheating by looking it up.
Ted in cedar
It’s important to remember that Ted is 24 and a half years old. He likes to wander out in the enclosure and when he does, he sometimes takes side trips to visit areas where he used to rest. Such was the case on Monday when Ted walked back to his enclosure. He crossed the mound, sat, and ate grass, then turned towards the cedar trees where Holly and Tasha used to play. I walked across the mound to check on him, he grunted then laid down. I left him to rest. His age and resilience speak for him, he takes many breaks before he arrives at his destination.
After his short rest he returned to the mound. He saw Lucky at the back of his enclosure and Holly at the back of hers. Was Ted problem solving? We all know bears can do simple problem solving. He saw Lucky, they have had confrontations before between the fence.
Next, he saw Holly, she previously bluff charged the fence but then licked his head.
Ted made his decision and turned to his left and walked into the woods. I’m wondering if he purposely did it to avoid confrontation. Ted is a very intelligent bear. He carefully looked at each step he took, traveling over some large branches. He saw me and found the bear trail. Again, sitting down to rest. He found some fur shed by either Holly or Tasha and sat investigating it. He then got up and came to me as I waited inside his enclosure.
On Thursday, I gave all the bears fresh cedar mulch. Ted finished his bowl of peanuts and immediately investigated his new flooring. He looked like an orange bear when he had finished rolling in it.
