Fallen

When Ann and I toured the Milwaukee County Zoo September 18, I noticed that their polar bear exhibit included a deep drop, with net, to keep the bears contained on exhibit. The NC Zoo has a similar arrangement behind its polar bear habitat.

Now I read that a Milwaukee bear has fallen safely into that net and has not yet walked back up the stairs provided for it to make its own way back to the exhibit.

It seems this bear did a similar thing many years ago and took over a week to make that walk back upstairs.

Milwaukee Zoo Director Chuck Wikenhauser, who I congratulated/sympathized with in September on his repeat hosting of a national conference of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, hopes Zero learned from the earlier experience and will return to exhibit sooner this time.

An update on this story revealed that the bear is still off exhibit and Zoo visitation is well up as friends of the Zoo and bear come to encourage him upstairs.