29 Jan. 2020

In Retirement, the activity from the Exhibit Pack gives Grizzer some focus. He will often climb on top of the den in the Back Habitat, where he has a great view of the Exhibit. He can hear, see, and smell them, and when the Exhibit Pack is ramped up and running around, Grizzer usually gets excited and will run around his enclosures as well.  Although he has some vision and hearing loss due to his age, he continues to have great focus.  He will be 16 years of age in May, and staff are very pleased to see how clear his cognitive function continues to be. We are grateful to Kelly Godfrey, Ann Rasberry and Melonie Shipman who have all contributed to Grizzer’s fond desire for pork roasts.   At his age, we are not restricting his diet with the exception that his aging teeth make it hard to eat any bone, so traditional deer and beaver diets are limited.  Grizzer has a rotating diet of boneless chicken, bonedust, beef and pork roasts, all fed in small quantities to avoid having food taken by scavenging ravens.  We don’t mind feeding ravens in the main pack, but with Grizzer’s declining vision, having large birds swoop from the sky can be intimidating.

Grizzer carrying a pork roast from the pack holding area

Wolf Log written by Assistant curator, Leanne Martin