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American Kestrel<br />
ZOO TIME!<br />
Big Bear Alpine Zoo<br />
Strives Towards<br />
New Heights<br />
High in the mountain region of Big Bear Lake, a<br />
gaze of raccoons (that’s what you call a group of<br />
raccoons) is scurrying across branches foraging<br />
for food items while other members of the gaze are<br />
busy at a nearby water source involved in their dunking<br />
ritual, rinsing their food through the water. What at<br />
first appears to be both food and hand washing is actually<br />
the technique used by raccoons to heighten their<br />
sense of touch, giving them precise information on<br />
what they are about to consume.<br />
Not far away, a male black bear tilts his head up<br />
and with a rapid succession of airflow through his<br />
nostrils, determines that a tasty food source is close by.<br />
His sense of smell, 100 times more powerful than that<br />
of a human’s, picks up a scent of an edible possibility.<br />
With massive arm and shoulder strength to accompany<br />
the incredible sense of smell, the 400-pound omnivore<br />
moves massive logs in an effort to find each morsel of<br />
hidden edible treasure.<br />
Known for their expertise as an ambush predator,<br />
two mountain lions blend in with their surrounding<br />
mountain flora, hiding between bark and branch.<br />
Above the ground, the brown, black, and grey hues of<br />
their fur makes them almost invisible allowing them to<br />
scan the activity on the ground beneath them.<br />
A perfect match for the surrounding bark of forest<br />
trees, their stealth-like behavior makes them almost<br />
undetectable.<br />
California has some of the most diverse wildlife<br />
in North America. But you don’t have to camp out in<br />
the wilderness just to catch a glimpse of some of our<br />
state’s amazing animals. In fact, the animals described<br />
above are actually animals at the Big Bear Alpine Zoo.<br />
Founded in 1959, the Big Bear Alpine Zoo is the only<br />
Alpine Zoo of its kind in the United States. Situated at<br />
almost 7,000 feet above sea level, the Big Bear Alpine<br />
Zoo serves as a rehabilitation facility for both mountain<br />
and nearby communities. With a nearly 80% success<br />
rate, animals are nursed back to health or weaned onto<br />
solid foods and then released back into the wild. If an<br />
animal is too injured or if it has lost its fear of humans,<br />
it cannot be released and has a home for life at Big Bear<br />
Alpine Zoo.<br />
“Our goal at the zoo is to connect our guests to<br />
wildlife, to demonstrate both the uniqueness of our<br />
animals and their habitat in the wild,” says Curator<br />
Bob Cisneros. “As for our animals, we focus on their<br />
natural behaviors, providing them with opportunities<br />
to thrive. I think this combination of connecting<br />
guests to wildlife and meeting the welfare needs of our<br />
animals makes us very successful at what we do.”<br />
If you are planning a trip to Big Bear, get your wild<br />
on! A visit to the zoo is the best way to see representatives<br />
of our mountain ecosystem. Located on 2.5 acres,<br />
Big Bear Alpine Zoo brings the wild to you, housing<br />
over 100 animals, mostly native species.<br />
The zoo is open daily from 10am through 5pm and<br />
is located at 43285 Goldmine Drive in Big Bear Lake,<br />
right across the street from Bear Mountain Ski and<br />
Board Resort.<br />
Each day at noon there is an animal presentation<br />
done by one of their keepers and three animal enrichment<br />
talks at 1pm, 2pm, and 3pm.<br />
If you want to know more about the facility and<br />
the animals in their care, check out the website at www.<br />
bigbearzoo.org or like them on their facebook page. IER<br />
California<br />
has some<br />
of the most diverse<br />
wildlife in North<br />
America. But you<br />
don’t have to<br />
camp out in the<br />
wilderness just to<br />
catch a glimpse of<br />
some of our state’s<br />
amazing animals.<br />
BIG BEAR ALPINE ZOO<br />
ADMISSION<br />
Adults 10-59 $12.00<br />
Children 3-9 $9.00<br />
Seniors 60 and over $9.00<br />
Children 2 and under Free<br />
American Badger<br />
Arctic Fox<br />
June, 2016 Inland Entertainment Review 15