Lucky Bear
Bear News – October 14, 2023
Starting this week I will be doing an update on each of our bears; this week it is all about Lucky.
Lucky weighed 481 pounds this week, he will be 17 years old this coming January. He is now the oldest member of our bear family and moving into his geriatric years. With hibernation just a couple weeks away, Lucky is showing great interest in Den 2 and 3. Time will tell where he may choose.
This year we are using ground matter for the dens in preparation for hibernation. Lucky will receive more leaves, balsam boughs and cedar as part of his denning materials.
One of the coolest facts about Lucky is that he had several human moms; I was one of them. He also had Ted to teach him, which is unheard of in the bear realm. He arrived at the NABC on July 6 of 2007 in a mustang convertible!
Lucky is very comedic; he uses logs to play with along with any other item he may find attractive for play. He enjoys being with Holly but doesn’t like Tasha. His favorite foods are eggs, Brazil nuts and large dog biscuits.
One of my favorite Lucky stories happened 2 years ago. I was on my walk around the enclosure to see Holly at the dug den. Lucky followed, keeping pace with the fence between us. Holly stopped him about 20 feet from her den. He was making sweet sounds but Holly greeted him with a stern blow. He backed off as she swiped a paw at him and he ran, jumped on a large rock and faced her. She continued her gargling. He ran along the fence back to the bunker and put himself in. The power of Holly. Lucky pouted for a long time but they are still friends.
I hope you will enjoy the pictures of our 16-year-old male Lucky. He is one handsome bear and he knows it. If you’d like to read more about him, check out Lucky’s page on our website.
Thank you for all you do,
Sr. Bear Keeper, Sharon Herrell
