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Saturday, March 16, 2013

All Your Baby Bears Are Belong To Us (except, not really at all)

Hopefully the blog post caught your attention a bit and you are thinking exactly what I had hoped you would be thinking..is there a sequel to Zero Wing that involves baby bears? Sadly, no, that is not the case (hey Nintendo, that would be an awesome idea though!) instead the blog title was thought up by my girlfriend Jill, who accompanied me today on a trip up to Plumpton Park Zoo in Rising Sun, Maryland.  We became Platinum members of the zoo this past week after seeing the two European Brown Bear Cubs Frankie and Ringo on the morning news this past week.  Being a Platinum member at the zoo has a TON of benefits, but perhaps the best benefit is the ability to take a behind the scenes tour with a staff member that allows you to see a lot of the animals much closer than you could at probably any other zoo (I cannot speak from experience on that, however). During the tour (led by Michelle, who was great!!) we got to meet (among other animals) a giraffe, a porcupine, a fox, two tigers, timber wolves, and we also got to see Michelle (our tour guide) interact with many of the animals as well (this was probably the only time that I will ever get a chance to see a European Brown Bear give upside down bear kisses to another human being!)  All of the photos of the other animals were taken by Jill (as my arm is still in a sling after rotator cuff/bicep tendon surgery) but the baby bear photos were taken with my Canon S100 Point and Shoot.  We will be posting photos of the other animals (including some really unique shots of tigers) in the very near future, so be sure to check back for those photos!

But, of course the absolute highlight of the tour were the bear cubs Frankie and Ringo.  The cubs were born on 8 January 2013 and are quite possibly the cutest animals that I have ever seen.  They already have some pretty big claws and try to suckle on your hand and make a noise that resembles purring.  They are already pretty adept at climbing and even took a nap in the middle of a petting time!

I want to thank the staff at the zoo for taking the time to give us the tour today and making the bears available to Jill and me for some photos (and of course some cuddle and play time).  If there is an influx of Platinum Level members the staff may not be able to schedule time for all of the new members to see the cubs but a membership is a great way to support a great cause and (potentially) have a once in a lifetime opportunity to see and pet European Brown Bear Cubs!



Michelle, the zoo manager/our tour guide

Nap Time

Inside the tall X-Pen

Owner of the zoo

I get a high paw!

Cuddle time

I want some food!

Jealousy Part I

Jealousy Part II

Nothing My Paw Can't Fix

Time for Noms!

More Noms

Starting To Fall Asleep


The link to my Google + photo album

The link to Plumpton Park Zoo

The link to my flickr album

These photos are shared via my Google+ account, so you should be able to download them and view them without any issue.  If you would like a copy/copies of these photos, please feel free to contact me (preferably  through the Email me tab at the top of the page). If you enjoyed viewing this photo, please take a moment and leave comments and/or feedback. Please also feel free to pass the link of this photo on to others if you so desire. Thanks for stopping by!!



4 comments:

  1. Sorry I messed up the last comment. The bears are too cute and what a great opportunity to get the behind the scene tour! Well done Brian!

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    1. Thanks Cindi,

      The bears were definitely the highlight of the tour, but we were able to get some shots of other animals (especially the tigers) that were absolutely amazing. Have to go through those photos and figure out what ones to post from them, but I promise there are more great animal shots from the Zoo that are coming! :)

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  2. Those bears are the cutest things ever!!!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Cathy. Maybe the next time you all are out here you can make some time to head up to the zoo. It really is a great experience!!

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