Woodland Park Zoo and GBOP hosted what is quickly becoming an annual event anticipated by both patrons of the zoo and the bears that live there. Keema and Denali, both 950 pound Brown (Grizzly) Bears put on quite a show. With donated equipment from REI, the zoo staff, GBOP and invited members of the public set up a campsite in the bear compound. Everything was done incorrectly to demonstrate what bears can do to your camp if you leave food nearby or worse yet, in your tent.
The bears went thru the camp systematically looking for and finding all of the hidden treats.
In about the same time as it takes to set up camp, the bears had completely demolished everything. People watching the camp destruction quickly understood the value of setting up a proper camp.
Over 2,000 people visited the Bear Affair activities. Everyone enjoyed themselves, but no one had as much fun as Keema and Denali. You can check out a You Tube video of the event at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CARM1-ZQYb4.
The GBOP website has lots of tips for living and camping in bear country: http://www.bearinfo.org/tips.htm.
Photo credits by Dennis Ryan and Wendy Gardner
