Later that morning an unsafe campsite was setup in their compound. The bears enthusiaticly demostrated what bears do to a camp left unattended and full of food. Its amazing to watch the systematic search for items hidden in tents, sleeping bags and coolers. This year a raft was placed in their swimming area. Inside was a tasty salmon.
In the afternoon items which might atteact bears to your home were placed in their compound. Included were a greasy grill, bird food feeder and two types of garbage containers. This photo says it all. The normal garbage container was destroyed in less than 30 seconds. However, the bear resistant garbage container withstood repeated assaults by both bears and remained intact. If you live in bear country, this is definitely the type of container you need. This container is a product of UnBearable Bins.
The crowd loved the demonstration almost as much as the bears loved putting on a show. Afterward they were ready for a nap.
A news crew from King 5 TV was on hand to cover the event. They ran a segment on the evening news which highlighted the need to avoid attracting bears and creating a conflict scenerio. The segment included the bear which closed the Puyallup park for a weekend. You can view the on air segment at the KING 5 website. Harriet Allen, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, gave two talks on wolf issues faced by the state during the day. All the events were attended by large crowds.
Many thanks to the Zoo staff for the flawless execution of an eventful day.