By Bernard Troncale, Alabama News Center
If you want to see bear claws somewhere besides your local doughnut shop, head to the Birmingham Zoo’s new Barbara Ingalls Shook Black Bear Trail that is set to open Saturday, Aug. 8, at noon.
Though zoo members have had a couple of days to check out the bears in the Alabama Wilds area of the Junior League of Birmingham-Hugh Kaul Children’s Zoo, Sassafras (Sassy) and Betula (Bety), are two rescued American Black Bears who have been living at the zoo since 2014 in a temporary exhibit in the Predator Building. The pair came as cubs and now weigh between 125 and 150 pounds.
The almost one-acre Bear Trail features a wild area where visitors might see the bears climbing tall trees, foraging under trees or cooling off in a stream or even using their powerful retractable claws to rip apart logs. There is a backyard habitat that demonstrates how humans and bears share the same environment.
Black bears are found throughout North America, from Canada to Mexico and in at least 41 states despite significant loss of range in many places, but remain widespread throughout Canada and the United States. Bears can run up to 35 miles per hour when they are not hibernating for the winter. Bears have color vision and a keen sense of smell. That’s why they can be a nuisance in some backyards, sniffing out pet food or other foods or garbage humans might leave out.
They are so intelligent they will remember a food source and how easy it might be to return to over and over. Even though bears are omnivores, they are very opportunistic eaters and will eat fish and mammals and even carrion, so it’s easy to understand their taste for human foods. “Don’t feed the bears” signs are posted throughout wilderness areas to protect the bears and people.
“We want zoo guests to experience what would happen if they leave food sources in their backyard to attract bears, and what they can do to coexist with bears, whose numbers are increasing in Alabama,” said Dr. William Foster, president and chief executive officer of the zoo.
“The zoo is no longer just about seeing animals or providing field trips for schoolchildren. It is about conservation and research of threatened animals in the wild and the challenges they face,” he said. “We hope that this educational exhibit will provide the story of how we can all make a positive difference.”
So forget the doughnuts and see the real thing.
And don’t forget the sign. Don’t feed the bears.