Neil and Buzz get their space back

Neil in water, and Buzz on land

17 year old brothers Neil and Buzz are looking forward to finally having their bachelor pad all to themselves, after several years of hosting flood refuge bears at the Como Zoo in St. Paul, Minnesota.

17-jährige Brüder Neil und Buzz freuen uns, endlich mit dem Junggesellen nach Hause, um sich, nach mehreren Jahren der Hosting-Flut Zuflucht Bären.

Two of the Minot Bears at Como Zoo.
They tore up the grass with their long claws.

 First Neil and Buzz had to play host to three brown bears, Goldie, Sandie and Judy, from the flooded Roosevelt Park Zoo in Minot, North Dakota when that zoo was devastated by spring floods in June of 2011. The brown bears lived in the right hand enclosure, and Neil and Buzz lived in the left hand side, with still plenty of room.

Erste Neil und Buzz gehostet drei Braunbären, Goldie, Sandie und Judy, aus dem überfluteten Roosevelt Park Zoo in Minot North Dakota, wenn das Zoo wurde im Frühjahr Hochwasser im Juni 2011 zerstört. Die Braunbären lebten in der rechten Gehäuse und Neil und Buzz lebte in der linken Seite, mit noch viel Platz.

Berlin at Como Zoo

Berlin (outside) greets Uncle Buzz

The center training area between enclosures with Uncle Buzz, Uncle Neil and Niece Berlin 

Then it got even more crowded. The Como Zoo had six bears at one time for about 6 months after 23 year old Berlin, Neil and Buzz's niece, was displaced by a flash flood in June of 2012 at the Lake Superior Zoo in Duluth Minnesota, just a few hours north of St. Paul. Berlin stayed until December, when she moved to the Kansas City Zoo to be with 6 year old Nikita. Neil and Buzz loved having Berlin stay with them. The little family of three had a great time playing together. Berlin, who was much smaller, seemed to be the boss of her younger uncles.

Dann wurde es noch mehr überfüllt. Die Como Zoo hatte sechs Bären auf einmal für etwa 6 Monate nach 23-jähriger Berlin, Neil und Buzz Nichte wurde von einer Sturzflut im Juni 2012 im Lake Superior Zoo in Duluth Minnesota verdrängt, nur ein paar Stunden nördlich von St . Paul. Berlin blieb bis Dezember, wenn sie an den Kansas City Zoo zog mit 6-jährigen Nikita sein. Neil und Buzz geliebt hat Berlin mit ihnen zu bleiben. Die kleine Familie von drei hatten eine tolle Zeit zusammen spielen. Berlin, die viel kleiner war, schien der Chef ihrer jüngeren Onkel sein.

Spring is here. The water is cleaned out,
 and grass is beginning to grow back
 in the right hand enclosure.
The Minot bears have been gone since January.

The brown bears finally were able to return to their Minot home zoo in January. Since their departure, the Como Zoo staff has cleaned out the deep diving pool and filled it with fresh water. They have repaired and landscape the area in the right hand enclosure destroyed by the long claws of the Minot Zoo guests.

Die Braunbären schließlich konnten in ihre Heimat Zoo im Januar zurück. Seit ihrer Abreise hat der Como Zoo Personal aus den tiefen Tauchbecken gereinigt und gefüllt mit frischem Wasser. Sie haben repariert und Landschaft der Region in der rechten Gehäuse.

Neil waits by the door to the right hand enclosure, hoping it will open soon

Neil and Buzz miss Berlin, but they will be very happy to get their diving pool back from the brown bears. Neil has been scratching on that door, hoping it will open any day now. Since moving into their new habitat, Neil and Buzz had preferred the right hand enclosure. After seeing Neil and Buzz live for almost two years in the left side, the zoo staff is curious to see which side the boys will prefer now.

Neil und Buzz verpassen Berlin, aber sie werden sehr glücklich sein, ihre Sprungbecken zurück zu bekommen. Neil hat auf dieser Tür kratzen, in der Hoffnung es öffnet jetzt jeden Tag. Seit dem Umzug in ihre neue Heimat, hatte Neil und Buzz die rechte Gehäuse bevorzugt. Nachdem ich Neil und Buzz seit fast zwei Jahren in der linken Seite zu leben, ist der Zoo Personal neugierig zu sehen, auf welcher Seite die Jungs jetzt lieber.

Buzz - the smaller brother, but he is the dominant bear

Buzz is looking for treats in an old bucket

Buzz is still looking for treats....

Buzz finds a box of goodies

Buzz puts on his brown bear disguise by rolling in the dirt...

then it is time for a nap.

Neil jumps and surprises one of the young visitors

Their favorite food is frozen lard.
Here, Neil and one of his keepers have a nice talk while she feeds him lard sticks.

Neil plays with a barrel, making it squirt water out of a hole.

Neil, Buzz and the Minot Bears

Buzz enjoys a snack from his puzzle feeder 

Neil works on his puzzle feeder as part of the zoo's enrichment - Buzz is in the background, having his own snack.

Buzz and Neil, 16 year old brothers at the Como Zoo in St. Paul, Minnesota, have spent most of the past year playing host to three flood refugees from the Roosevelt Park Zoo in Minot, North Dakota, Goldie the Grizzly Bear (a male), and Brown Bears Judy and Sandy (lady bears) are enjoying the run of the right-hand half the brand new polar bear habitat at the Como Zoo, until they can return home to Minot, hopefully in the next few months. A much improved new bear habitat is being built in Minot, but the perimeter fencing at the Roosevelt Park Zoo must be solid and safe before the brown bears can return.

Goldie the Grizzly Bear, and one of the Brown Bears

The Roosevelt Park Zoo was under 4 feet of water for several months last spring, due to heavy rains and snow melt. Since the waters receded in July, the zoo has been working to rebuild for the 2012 season. Minot, North Dakota, about 500 miles away from St. Paul, Minnesota.

The Como Zoo also offered a temporary home to some poison dart tree frogs, still at Como, and 13 endangered African penguins, who have since moved to a new penguin habitat at the nearby Minnesota Zoo.

Some of the affected Minot hoofed animals, such as llamas and bison, were taken in by local farmers in the Minot area. Other animals moved into a roomy old furniture warehouse that was quickly retrofitted as an indoor zoo, still in use. Still other animals were sent to zoos around the country. The Tanganyika (Tan-GAHN-yee-cuh) Wildlife Park is hosting three giraffes, two lions, two tigers and two Amur leopards from the Roosevelt Park Zoo.

Neil and Buzz were themselves houseguests for two years in the fabulous polar bear habitat at the Detroit Zoo, while their new home at Como was under construction. Polar Bear Odyssey at the Como Zoo opened June 3, 2010. The brothers enjoyed the run of the place for a year, and then Goldie, Sandy and Judy arrived in June of 2011.

Goldie the Grizzly Bear from Minot

The three Minot bears were quarantined for a month before they came out in public, to make sure they weren't bringing in any diseases or parasites for the other bears. For most of the past year, the central training area connecting the two bear yards was closed off, but Neil and Buzz could see their visitors from the bedrooms in the living area. A few weeks ago, the polar bears were allowed back into the training area, and Buzz spent a good deal of time when I was there, pawing at the locked door, curious about the new neighbors, or as he probably calls them, the invaders.

The brown bears are living in the right hand habitat, which has the deepest pool, good for fishing, but they mostly stay out of the water. That side has been the one preferred by Neil and Buzz, until it was taken over by the visitors. Zookeeper Cindy said that Neil and Buzz will be very happy to get their favorite area back. Since they have gotten used to the left hand area, it will be interesting to see which side they prefer now.

Even though it is winter, the brown bears aren't really hibernating. They have a good food supply, so they stay active through the winter.

One of the Brown Bears, Judy or Sandy, and Goldie the Grizzly

Cuddly Brown Bear - Judy or Sandy

Brown Bear

Goldie takes a drink

I visited the Como Zoo on February 25, two days before International Polar Bear Day, and Zoo keeper Julie Yarrington talked about her trip to Churchill, Manitoba Canada, under the auspices of Polar Bears International and the American Association of Zoo Keepers, for a week long leadership camp. She said that polar bears in the wild are very different from zoo bears in the way they act, and their attitude, and she learned a lot from her trip to the Hudson Bay area.

Polar Bears International worked with the Como Zoo in the design of Polar Bear Odyssey, which mimics the ecosystem of the Hudson Bay. The exhibit has many educational aspects, as well as daily zoo keeper talks. Here, Justin holds a ceramic bear showing the size (one pound) of a newborn polar bear.

Neil spent most of the afternoon in the dry moat, chasing around some big white barrels, but was finally lured out by the promise of some yummy food, stuffed in a puzzle box.

Neil - see the spots?

Neil has rubbed a couple of spots of fur off his behind.

Buzz wants to break down this door to get to the visiting bears.

Buzz 

Neil and Buzz - and some fun food

End of the day and Neil takes a nap in his bedroom