News at the Zoo: Shaggy, dusty and unkempt, yet ‘beary’ cute
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IDAHO FALLS — It’s noisy in the Sloth Bear enclosure — lots of grunts and snorts — but the guttural sounds don’t mean the bears don’t like company.
In this week’s News at the Zoo we started our adventure hiding grapes and peanut butter in places that would mimic the natural behavior of foraging for food.
Hiding treats for the bears is part of the zoo’s enrichment program which is focused on stimulating the bears in a mentally challenging way.
Watch the video above to see the bears try and find the food we hid for them.
Afterwards we went indoors and practiced some training with the sloth bears. Particular behaviors are necessary to practices as they are used help determine the health of the bears.
Behaviors like standing on a scale or putting an arm through a tube, giving access to blood draws, are rewarded with honey.