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Animals well-sated thanks to donations
| Friday, Apr 21 2006 10:50 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Apr 21 2006 11:12 PM
When it comes to food challenges, bears and humans have something in common.
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The California Living Museum's bears, Cinnamon and Dart, had trouble licking the peanut butter inside their mouths Wednesday morning.
The animal keepers treated them to a breakfast of peanut butter and dog biscuits at the northeast Bakersfield zoo. Much of what the animals eat is donated by the public, and you can help.
CALM encourages people to donate food and office supplies printed in a wish list in its quarterly newsletter. It's sent to zoo members and can be picked up at CALM.
On Wednesday, animal keeper Sharon Boyles used a syringe to feed dog milk replacement formula to a baby opossum.
She wiped his mouth and placed him in a towel-lined cage with a small stuffed animal.
"When they're young they all sleep all together, so (the toy) kind of brings back natural instincts," she said.
The 200 native Californiabeasts consume an estimated 70 pounds of food a day, said CALM director Tom Anspach.
Food costs the zoo between $800 and $900 a week, not counting the donations, he said.
Wal-Mart, Green Frog Market and PetSmart are some of the zoo's biggest food donors.
Another big help is the zoo's annual Feast for the Beaststhe day after Thanksgiving, where the public donates food in exchange for zoo admission, said Debby Kroeger, education and volunteer services manager.
The humans at CALM need help, too. Staff members need walkie-talkies to communicate and microscopes for educational purposes.
Island foxes love donated salmon, raccoons and coyotes enjoy dog biscuits and ducks and canines munch on dog food. Meat-based human baby food helps some of the zoo's little ones adjust to solids.
"The donations save thousands of dollars in grocery supplies," Boyles said.
People also donate large dog toys for the zoo's big felines and tennis balls for the raccoons to play with.
Cinnamon and Dart love jellies, jams and honey. Skittles candies are one of their favorite treats, Boyles said.
On Wednesday, the bears drank donated banana-flavored snow cone syrup diluted with water.
They would have preferred blue berry-flavored syrup, their favorite, Boyles added.
Call 872-2256 for more information.
Bring donations between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., seven days a week. Call before you come so staff can decide if the donation is needed. CALM is at 10500 Alfred Harrell Highway.
Some items on CALM’s wish list:
n Dog food (any brand)
n Cat food (any brand)
n Iams MiniChunks or Weight Control dog food
n Wild birdseed
n Kitten milk replacement
n Esbilac (puppy milk replacement)
n Seedless grapes
n Watermelons
n Blankets
n Tool boxes
n Hammers
n Shovels
n Cash donations to purchase new walkie-talkies
n Gift cards from PetSmart and other pet stores, plus office supply and book retailers
n White or colored copy paper
n New computers
n New golf cart