It's Time for Hay!

Well it's getting time for hay. With the cooler mornings we felt it necessary to add hay to our smaller cats (bobcats, servals and caracals). Let me tell you, they are enjoying it. As soon as the hay was put into their house, the cats went straight over to check it out. This morning, every single bobcat, serval and caracal were snuggled in their warm, cozy house. Even during the afternoon, they will stay in their house. I think they like the feel of the hay and the cushion it adds. It won't be long until we are adding hay to all the animals of IEAS as Winter approaches.

Rainy Days

Well, the animals are enjoying some much needed rain. You would think on days like today, you would find the animals in their houses staying warm and dry. Well, not the tigers. Majority of the tigers are out walking around as if it was a nice sunny day. Akbar, Arusha, and Kumar stayed on their perch relaxing. Makeen and Noel are up walking around just checking things out while Sabrina is in her cave watching the rain come down. Our group of young tigers, Kimberly and Karen and Allie and Rasul are taking time to play in the rain like little kids. I guess it takes more than just a little rain to keep these guys in. If you didn't mind getting soaked to the bone, it is actually really cute to watch these guys have fun.

Shauna got a pumpkin today for enrichment. She loved it! As soon as they raised her house gate, she ran inside and grabbed it. Even though the pumpkin was the size of two put together, Shauna grabbed it with ease and ran around with it. It was as though she was showing off her prize. She eventually settled with it near her perch and just bit into it and rolled around with it. She would hide behind her tree and then jump out and pounce on it. After playing with it a bit longer, she carried it up on her perch and laid next to it. I think she was ready for a nap by then.

Minor Repairs

Well, we have been doing some minor repairs the past few days. First, Ron's favorite perch needed to be replaced. He loves lying on the perch every morning, but over time it just got to the point it needed to be fixed. So, Roy and Christi worked hard all last week to build him a new perch. This morning, that project was finally complete. Anyone can guess where Ron has spent the rest of the day.

Another repair being made is to the Grizzly pool. With the cooler weather comes cracks in the pools. So the Grizzlies have been supervising our progress on their pool. The interns and staff have been working hard these past two days to re-cement and mortar their pool again. Tomorrow all we have to do is rinse the pool and fill it. Then we just watch them enjoy their pool. For anyone who has seen them, these four bears LOVE their pool. With this beautiful fall weather, those who haven't visited the animals that call IEAS home, you should come out and see them.

Dakar and Lucky

Today Dakar and Lucky were enjoying the beautiful weather. They were in their meadow area of Bear Orphanage playing together. Lucky would start out on top of Dakar almost like putting him in a head lock, but then Dakar would duck under and poor Lucky would end up on his back. They were like two little kids wrestling. Meyote soon came to break up the fun. When she arrived, they all just sat there looking at each other. I think they enjoyed it more when it was just the boys.

Pumpkin Season is Here!

Tis the season for pumpkins! That means loads of fun for the felines and more to eat for the bears! The bears love pumpkin season as they enjoy trying to break them open to see what's inside. They love the pumpkins seeds, and eat them one by one. The felines enjoy playing with the pumpkins; it's a new enrichment item for them to play with. Some cats will roll them around and bat at them while others will shred them to pieces. When they shred them, it's usually in their pool which makes it fun for us to clean up.....not really, but we do enjoy watching them have fun. That is the entertaining part. So, if you have any old pumpkins you would like to donate to the animals of IEAS, please let us know. We would be happy to take them. The animals really enjoy them every fall, and it is something for them to look forward to during this season.