On March 30th, we lost a
significant member of the zoo family. Juneau, our
male black bear, passed away due to complications
from abdominal surgery. Juneau had emergency
surgery on March 25th as a result of extreme
abdominal distress. The veterinary staff performed
exploratory surgery and found an intestinal
torsion (twisted bowel). A large section of
compromised intestine was resected and an
end-to-end anastomosis was performed. Prognosis
was guarded. Juneau made it through the surgery
and was being closely monitored. Sadly, he passed
away early Sunday morning, March 30th, due to
complications from the intestinal torsion.
The Topeka Zoo received Juneau in
early 2002. This young male bear was approximately
one year of age, and had been found in a
residential area of Juneau, Alaska. The Alaska
Fish and Game department placed the bear at the
Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, to await transfer to his
new home. Young orphaned black bears are not an
uncommon occurrence in Alaska. The Alaska Zoo has
been instrumental in providing a temporary home
for some of these orphaned bears.
Topeka school children were asked
and responded overwhelmingly to the "Name the
Bear" contest. Classes were encouraged to submit
entries to the zoo with their vote for a name for
the new black bear. We had 22 area schools
represented in this contest. Their suggested names
were presented to a committee who narrowed down
the choices to those names that got the most
votes. Hill’s Pet Nutrition President & CEO,
Bob Wheeler, made the final selection.
Hill’s Black Bear Woods was
opened in 1996 as a habitat for the zoo’s black
bears. This 20,000 square foot home provides a
semi-naturalistic setting for the bears to climb
trees, enjoy a nice pond, or observe the red foxes
living in their habitat. Black bears are
omnivorous in their feeding habits, enjoying a
wide variety of vegetable, fruits and fish as part
of their diet. The Topeka Zoo has two other Black
bears living at the Hill’s Black Bear Woods,
12-year old sisters, Sneak and Peek.
The loss of any animal at the zoo
has an impact on everyone in our zoo family, but
some animals, like Juneau, have really become zoo
favorites. He will be missed by the zoo staff and
the community.
On a more positive note, spring
is upon us, the Zoo is becoming very busy! We are
offering a variety of events in the near future:
Dream Night at the Zoo, Mother’s Day event at the
Zoo, Father’s Day event at the Zoo, Zoo-B-Que,
Party for the Animals, Ice Cream Safari. We also
have several exhibit projects under design or
construction at this time: Kansas Carnivores (home
for mountain lions and river otters), spotted
hyena exhibit, and African primate and aviary
exhibits. 2008 and 2009 are going to be exciting
years at the Topeka Zoo!
Your zoo is always changing to provide more
opportunities for you and your family to learn …
don’t miss out on the
fun!