Imperial Valley News

San Diego Zoo, California - It was a "beary" fun day for the San Diego Zoo's polar bears on Thursday as zookeepers kicked off Bear Awareness Days, an educational event that is sure to bring fun times to visitors and bears alike through Sunday, May 11.

Polar bears Chinook (sha-NOOK) and Kalluk (ka-LUKE) received one of their favorite items - burlap sack dolls - to carry, cuddle or simply rest on. This is the first of many enrichment items that will be offered over the weekend, including snow at the Conrad Prebys Polar Bear Plunge on Saturday and a mock campsite for the brown bears on Sunday.

Bear Awareness Days, presented by Mission Federal Credit Union, offers an opportunity for guests to speak one on one with bear keepers and researchers about these animals and the conservation work being done to save these species.

There are eight living bear species, most of which require conservation efforts to protect their survival. Visiting the San Diego Zoo is one way to aid in bear conservation. A second opportunity to provide financial assistance can be found through the Zoo's Web site at www.sandiegozoo.org, where anyone can bid for a piece of one-of-a-kind, paw-made artwork that was created by the Zoo's bear residents.

Proceeds from the sale of the paw paintings, as well as special behind-the-scenes bear tours and an exclusive "Pandas, Polars and Pancakes" breakfast, will help fund bear projects through the International Bear Association and Polar Bears International.

For more information on Bear Awareness Days or to watch the polar bears live on the Zoo's Web cam, visit www.sandiegozoo.org.

The 100-acre San Diego Zoo is operated by the not-for-profit Zoological Society of San Diego. The Zoological Society, dedicated to the conservation of endangered species and their habitats, engages in conservation and research work around the globe and is responsible for maintaining accredited horticultural, animal, library, and photo collections. The Zoological Society also manages the 1,800-acre San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park (more than half of which has been set aside as protected native species habitat) and the center for Conservation and Research for Endangered Species (CRES). The important conservation and science work of these entities is supported in part by the Foundation for the Zoological Society of San Diego.