Bears: An Animal Rescue Story

Come listen as we visit a very special bear named Frankie at Orphaned Wildlife Center in New York. Learn more about bears, what makes them unique, and hear Frankie's special rescue story. Let’s promise to do our part to protect animals and our planet because here at Animal Rescue Adventures… every animal matters, and every explorer helps.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Hey explorers, welcome to Animal Rescue Adventures, the show where we meet amazing animals and become heroes for them too. I am Steph, and today we're going on a rescue mission. Today we're visiting a very special animal named Frankie at Orphans Wildlife Center in New York. Can you guess what kind of animal he is? Frankie is a bear. Let's learn a few cool things about bears. Bears have an incredible sense of smell, allowing them to track food from miles away. American black bears can count and possess large, complex brains showing intelligence similar to monkeys. Monkeys are very smart, so that means bears must be smart too. Bears are great swimmers and can seal their nostrils to keep water out while diving. Despite their size, black bears can climb trees quickly to find food or escape danger. During the winter, many bears hibernate in dens to save energy, living off fat stored from eating all summer and fall. Black bears can be black, brown, cinnamon, or even blue-gray, so not just black. Bear cubs are born very small, blind and without fur. Have you ever heard the term teddy bear? Well, the teddy bear was derived from the US President Theodore Roosevelt when he refused to shoot a bear cub on a hunting trip. Polar bears do not hibernate, although female pregnant polar bears will dig dens. Most bears are omnivores. They eat berries, nuts, insects, and fish. However, bears have been known to eat unusual items from campsites and humans, such as rubber boat seats, engine oil, and snowmobile seats. It's probably not very good from them. Frankie didn't start his life as a super strong bear though. In 2012, a young wild black bear named Frankie was brought to the Orphan Wildlife Center. He had been hit by a car and had a broken leg. The rescue began feeding him baby food and raw eggs. His legs started to heal as they cared for him. He started eating solid food and they did physical massage therapy on him while he recovered. Four months after he first arrived, they moved him into the barn to become acquainted with the other girl bears while he was still recovering. So what happened next? When Frankie had first arrived, he was a skinny little bear that weighed about 180 pounds. Then just four and a half months later, he weighed 206 pounds. Because of the extreme amount of human contact he was exposed to while the team rehabilitated him, they felt that he could no longer be released into the wild since he might no longer distance himself from humans. So they gave him a permanent home at the sanctuary. The team put him next to the girl bears so he could get to know them while he was recovering. But in one week Frankie had already become best friends with the girls and he still lives there happily with his friends. Trivia time. True or false, black bears are only black in color. False, they actually can be a variety of colors. True or false? Bears are too big to climb trees. False, although they're quite large, bears can climb trees rather well. Bear cubs are born without what? Fur and eyesight. They don't have those yet. All right, explorers. Here's your mission today. You can help bears like Frankie by using bear resistant trash cans or storage bins and secure airtight containers instead inside a garage or a shed, so don't leave your trash outside. Pick fruit as it ripens and clean up fallen fruit or vegetables in your yard to avoid attracting bears. If you and your family ever go camping, don't leave food or trash unintended. Use bear resistant storage and camp in designated safe areas. Never intentionally feed bears as this can make them dangerous. Every small action makes a big difference. Our adventure ends today with our new friend Frankie. Let's promise to do our part to protect animals and our planet. Because here at Animal Rescue Adventures, every animal matters and every explorer helps. And for the parents listening, remember to sign up for our Animal Rescue Adventures Club at www.supportanimal rescue adventures.com. That's support animal rescue adventures.com. See you later.