Inland Entertainment Review, July/August, 2016

American Kestrel
ZOO TIME!
Big Bear Alpine Zoo
Strives Towards
New Heights
High in the mountain region of Big Bear Lake, a
gaze of raccoons (that’s what you call a group of
raccoons) is scurrying across branches foraging
for food items while other members of the gaze are
busy at a nearby water source involved in their dunking
ritual, rinsing their food through the water. What at
first appears to be both food and hand washing is actually
the technique used by raccoons to heighten their
sense of touch, giving them precise information on
what they are about to consume.
Not far away, a male black bear tilts his head up
and with a rapid succession of airflow through his
nostrils, determines that a tasty food source is close by.
His sense of smell, 100 times more powerful than that
of a human’s, picks up a scent of an edible possibility.
With massive arm and shoulder strength to accompany
the incredible sense of smell, the 400-pound omnivore
moves massive logs in an effort to find each morsel of
hidden edible treasure.
Known for their expertise as an ambush predator,
two mountain lions blend in with their surrounding
mountain flora, hiding between bark and branch.
Above the ground, the brown, black, and grey hues of
their fur makes them almost invisible allowing them to
scan the activity on the ground beneath them.
A perfect match for the surrounding bark of forest
trees, their stealth-like behavior makes them almost
undetectable.
California has some of the most diverse wildlife
in North America. But you don’t have to camp out in
the wilderness just to catch a glimpse of some of our
state’s amazing animals. In fact, the animals described
above are actually animals at the Big Bear Alpine Zoo.
Founded in 1959, the Big Bear Alpine Zoo is the only
Alpine Zoo of its kind in the United States. Situated at
almost 7,000 feet above sea level, the Big Bear Alpine
Zoo serves as a rehabilitation facility for both mountain
and nearby communities. With a nearly 80% success
rate, animals are nursed back to health or weaned onto
solid foods and then released back into the wild. If an
animal is too injured or if it has lost its fear of humans,
it cannot be released and has a home for life at Big Bear
Alpine Zoo.
“Our goal at the zoo is to connect our guests to
wildlife, to demonstrate both the uniqueness of our
animals and their habitat in the wild,” says Curator
Bob Cisneros. “As for our animals, we focus on their
natural behaviors, providing them with opportunities
to thrive. I think this combination of connecting
guests to wildlife and meeting the welfare needs of our
animals makes us very successful at what we do.”
If you are planning a trip to Big Bear, get your wild
on! A visit to the zoo is the best way to see representatives
of our mountain ecosystem. Located on 2.5 acres,
Big Bear Alpine Zoo brings the wild to you, housing
over 100 animals, mostly native species.
The zoo is open daily from 10am through 5pm and
is located at 43285 Goldmine Drive in Big Bear Lake,
right across the street from Bear Mountain Ski and
Board Resort.
Each day at noon there is an animal presentation
done by one of their keepers and three animal enrichment
talks at 1pm, 2pm, and 3pm.
If you want to know more about the facility and
the animals in their care, check out the website at www.
bigbearzoo.org or like them on their facebook page. IER
California
has some
of the most diverse
wildlife in North
America. But you
don’t have to
camp out in the
wilderness just to
catch a glimpse of
some of our state’s
amazing animals.
BIG BEAR ALPINE ZOO
ADMISSION
Adults 10-59 $12.00
Children 3-9 $9.00
Seniors 60 and over $9.00
Children 2 and under Free
July/August, 2016 Inland Entertainment Review 27