“Why is he panting so hard?”
The Asiatic Black bear, or “Moonbear,” isn’t great at seeing or hearing in general. Their most useful sense is smell, and that’s how they find food, territory boundaries, and friends. Their twitching muzzles can often be mistaken for panting, when in fact they are just looking for things with their nose.
Our young Meeko is very playful, and not only likes to climb, he also has a tendency to roll, yank, and toss his toys around his exhibit. His favorite toy is a big stick, which usually ends up in the ravine. Unfortunately, he has to wait until the end of the day for his keeper to retrieve his plaything, so guests can often see him looking down with longing at the toy he can’t reach.
