All bears have an incredible sense of smell.  They can smell food (or something they think might be food) from a mile or more away.  Bear cubs like Otto and Rollo have noses that tell them about everything in their environment.  We are sure that their noses have told them about Apollo Bear, even though he is a ways off and in a building on the premises.  They have advance notice of a food delivery through their sense of smell, and in addition they hear the crunch of gravel as the curator brings food.  For this reason, the curators move their point of delivery and shift the time so that the cubs don’t become used to getting food at a specific time and place.  They are dealing with animals that are very clever and intelligent.  Sometimes they even walk down near the enclosure without delivering food to further cloud the cubs’ expectations.

Otto Bear – he learns by using his nose.

Otto sniffs – what does he smell? Is it food?

Not food – it’s his buddy, Rollo.

The two cubs forage together.

The cubs are easy to see in the cleared area near the fencing.  But when they go into the underbrush it’s another matter entirely.

If it weren’t for that red arrow, we might never notice Otto in the foliage.

Black bears evolved in forested habitats, so their black color is the perfect camouflage for them.