02/05/2024
Happy Birthday to Jerry and Gary our Black Bears! These fun-loving boys are brothers. Jerry is a very calm bear who doesn’t like to be rushed. On the other hand, Gary is like a child and loves playing with snowflakes, food or water. These sweet brothers are still sleeping in their dens. They will be starting to wake up in March from their torpor or “hibernation”. Gary is the more cinnamon/brown colored bear while Jerry is the black colored bear.
Both Jerry and Gary and Black Bears, which is a species - not a color. Black bear is a species, Ursus americanus, not a color. Black bears come in more colors than any other North American mammal.
In the eastern third of North America, the majority of black bears are a deep black color, and about a quarter of them sport a white chest blaze. The further west you go, the more likely it is you could see brown, cinnamon, tan, or blonde-black bears. In British Columbia you might be lucky enough to get a glimpse of the rare Kermode bear, a subspecies of black bear with all-white fur. Researchers tracking black bears have even documented cases of bears changing colors during the year. And it’s not uncommon for a mother bear to give birth to cubs of several different colors.
No one knows for sure why black bears come in so many different colors, but scientists suggest that the colors allow bears to adapt to their habitat; bears in densely wooded areas that are dark and shady are often darker colored than bears in open, sun-drenched landscapes where lighter-colored fur helps them blend in better.
Come out and visit Jerry and Gary this season. We plan to open our doors on April 18, 2024 at 9:00 am. Happy Birthday handsome boys! You are loved!
