Black Bears and Bobcats Up Close and Personal

Black Bears and Bobcats Up Close and Personal

Black bear images provided courtesy of the Oregon Zoo, Photographer: Michael Durham

Strolling beneath a shady canopy of trees, guests may be startled by the presence of a 300-pound black bear. If they retreat slowly, they could find themselves face-to whiskers with a bobcat in its den. What should guests do? Just enjoy the newly opened $2 million Black Bear Ridge at the Oregon Zoo. This new exhibit, supported by the Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation, provides an up-close encounter with the rarely seen black bears and bobcats that inhabit the Northwest.

“Black bears and bobcats are notorious for their reclusive natures,” says Tony Vecchio, zoo director. “However, with cities now expanding into rural areas, we’re hearing about more sightings and interactions. Our hope with Black Bear Ridge is not only to show these majestic Northwest animals, but to bring more awareness to the threats they are facing.”

The 14,000-square-foot Black Bear Ridge exhibit, along with the addition of the Cascade Canyon Trail, completes the $36 million Great Northwest exhibit. The trail includes a 100-foot-long suspension bridge, which will provide a bird’s-eye view of roaming black bears.

“The bridge allows our visitors to get a unique view that is not available anywhere else in the zoo,” says Vecchio. “This makes the trail an essential addition in completing the Great Northwest experience.”

In Black Bear Ridge, guests are invited to explain the differences between a black bear and its relative, the grizzly, or view a typical year in the life of an Oregon black bear. Guests will also learn all about bobcats, from their typical daily diet to the origin of their name.

Design and construction of Black Bear Ridge was completed with sustainability and animal interests in mind. For example, black bears are great climbers, so it was essential to leave the existing trees during the construction.

“Black bears are described as monkeys in bear suits because of their great climbing abilities,” says Brent Shelby, exhibits manager. “The exhibit crew saw the existing forest as a perfect place for the bears to climb, so we went the extra mile to incorporate those trees during construction.”

Bobcats were also considered during the construction and were treated with an overturned tree stump that serves as a heated den. A built-in viewing window in the den provides an excellent view of the bobcats.

The black bear exhibit consists of three wild-born black bears. The males, Homer and Pete, are named for the cities they were orphaned near: Homer and Petersburg, Alaska. Both are estimated to be 16 years old. The female, Gerry, is about 20 years old and recently weighed in at 268 pounds.

In addition, the zoo has brother and sister bobcats in Black Bear Ridge, both six years old and both from the Baltimore Zoo. The male, Kajika, weighs about 26 pounds, and the female, Kasa, weighs between 18 and 19 pounds. The pair are brother and sister.

With the completion of the Great Northwest exhibit, guests can use the Cascade Canyon Trail to see the different animals that call the Northwest home. The artwork found along the trail - including a carved wood fence using images of the forest from girls at the east Portland Boys & Girls Club - is supported in part by a grant from the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. The Great Northwest experience starts in the snowcapped mountains, runs through the watersheds, forests and farms of the valley, and ends on the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

The black bear is the smallest of the three bear species native to North America, which include the grizzly and the polar bear. An estimated 600,000 black bears inhabit North America. They can grow up to six feet long and range from 90 to 400 pounds. They communicate through body and facial expressions, sounds, touch and scent markings. Some famous black bears include the Forest Service’s Smokey Bear and the teddy bear, named after Theodore Roosevelt, who refused to shoot a cub on a hunting trip.

Bobcats are about twice the size of an average housecat. They can reach up to three feet in length and weigh anywhere from 15 to 30 pounds. The bobcat is North America’s most common native cat. Small tufts of hair on the tips of bobcats’ ears enhance their hearing abilities. The name bobcat comes from the
animal’s stubby or “bobbed” tail.

The zoo is a service of Metro and is dedicated to its mission to inspire the community to create a better future for wildlife. Committed to conservation, the zoo is currently working to save endangered California condors, Oregon silverspot butterflies, western pond turtles and Kincaid’s lupine. Other projects include studies on black rhinos, Asian elephants, polar bears and bats.

The zoo opens at 9 a.m. daily and is located five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Highway 26. The zoo is also accessible by MAX light rail line.

For more information, call 503-226-1561 or visit www.oregonzoo.org.