A few days ago, one of the cubs in Wild Enclosure #3 (Taco Bear) climbed up on the vertical den and did some deconstructing of the structure. Taco was interested in the fact that the firehose wrapping of the culvert was coming loose. Being a curious bear cub, he naturally had to pull on the loose hose, with the result that there was a rather large “tail” hanging off of the den.

He was proud of his accomplishment, but it created a problem for the curators.

There was a strong possibility that in pulling the firehose off, Taco exposed screws that might injure other cubs who investigated the vertical den. So Curators Tom and Bailey went into the enclosure to repair it.

As you know, ABR avoids any interaction between humans and bears once the cubs are in the Wild Enclosures, but occasionally it is necessary for them to enter, as in this case. There is a specific protocol they follow: two curators must enter so that one can stand guard while the other works.

In this case, Curator Bailey was “on guard” while Curator Tom made the repair. The job was finished very quickly.

Curator Tom left the enclosure, taking the supplies with him.

Naturally, one of the cubs had to check the repair job.

Hopefully it was satisfactory in the eyes of the cub. Now we’ll see how long it lasts!

We never know what to expect next. With twelve little cubs and one yearling, most anything can happen. Watch this space.