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GBOP and Woodland Park Zoo
A
partnership in action
During
Bear Awareness Week (May 2005) the partnership between Woodland Park Zoo and
GBOP once again resulted in some spectacular days of fun in Seattle and the
North Cascades. The week started in Silver Lake County Park in Whatcom County
where GBOP's Nan Laney and Chris Morgan joined the zoo's Wild Wise
team and 150
children from Kendall in the field for a day of bear tracking and campsite
training.
Next
was a special visit by 30 Seattle schoolchildren to the
zoo, where Chris and Pam
Cox (zoo bearkeeper) demonstrated the amazing durability of Counter Assault's
Bear Keg (with a little help from the zoo bears!).
The
grand finale was a weekend of fun bear resistant container demonstrations for
the public and some rare opportunities for several GBOP community members and
partner organizations to
take part in behind-the-scenes activities at the brown bear exhibit. Our sincere
thank you to Woodland Park Zoo for supporting GBOP through their
conservation grants program. It's an honor to be working with them through
programs that promote on-the-ground education for the benefit of people and
bears.
We
hope you enjoy this selection of photographs from Bear Awareness Week.
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Above: GBOP's Co-Director Chris Morgan
shares a grizzly bear skull with Seattle schoolchildren at the zoo. The
broad, flat molars of a grizzly bear allow plant matter to be broken
down. (Photo: Ryan Hawk, Woodland Park Zoo).
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Above: An engaged audience of school
children learns about the grizzly bears of the North Cascades from
GBOP's Chris Morgan. (Photo: Ryan Hawk, Woodland Park Zoo).
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Above: Chris Morgan with schoolchildren
learning about the importance of keeping bears and human attractants
(such as food and garbage) apart. Counter Assault's Bear Keg has been
designed to keep an inquisitive bear out of your food when camping and
boating. We were about to put it to the test using two Bear Kegs donated
by Counter Assault! (Photo: Jim Davis, GBOP).
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Above: Two Seattle schoolchildren take a
closer look at Counter Assault's Bear Keg and ponder what the outcome of
the bear demonstration will be. Will the Keg withstand the determination
of Woodland Park Zoo's two 850 pound brown bears?! (Photo:
Chris Morgan, GBOP).
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Above: Let the games begin! The two brown
bears take an immediate interest in the Bear Keg as soon as it is
introduced to their exhibit by the zoo's bearkeeper Pam Cox. The
schoolchildren watch eagerly in anticipation. (Photo: Ryan Hawk,
Woodland Park Zoo).
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Above: The excitement mounts as the bear
hurls the bear resistant food container into the pool and immediately
follows it on with a huge belly flop! This leads to some extreme
close-ups all around! Despite some dents and scratches, the canister
remains intact. (Photo: Ryan Hawk, Woodland Park Zoo).
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Above: The bears try several strategies
as they attempt to get into the canister. The zoo bear keeper, Pam Cox,
made things even more interesting by smearing the inside of the
container with peanut butter and tuna! (Photo: Ryan Hawk, Woodland Park
Zoo).
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Above: A great view of the bears through
the "cave" - one of three different angles from which to watch
their fascinating behavior at Woodland Park Zoo. At this point, the
bears had learned that this was going to be no easy meal. But they
hadn't yet given up. (Photo: Ryan Hawk, Woodland Park Zoo).
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