It is a family affair with something for everyone at the annual Bear Country Fair in the Moonridge Animal Park Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Park admission is $5 for ages 11 to adult; $4 for ages 3 to 10 and seniors 60 plus, and free to children under 3. Members of the Friends of the Moonridge Zoo are also admitted free.
Face painting, jewelry making and bear tossing (not real ones) are featured each day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Kids age 12 and under can have a roaring good time in competing in the Bear Roaring Contest at 2:45 p.m. Prizes are presented for the loudest roar, cutest roar, softest roar just to name a few category roars. There's also the bear toss and a chance to win a bear doing the walnut toss for kids.
John 3 Hawks will tell stories at a special noon animal presentation each day and performs at the opening ceremony Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
For more information about the Bear Country Fair, call the Friends of the Moonridge Zoo in Big Bear at (909) 878-4200.
43285 Goldmine Dr, Big Bear Lake, California 92315
Check this link for pictures and animal stories about over 80 species of mountain animals at the Moonridge Animal Park also known as the Big Bear Zoo http://www.moonridgezoo.org/map/animals.html
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Golden Bear Cottages resort is Big Bear's best place-to-stay with group-facilities. you can still stay close to home, but visit a different world in Big Bear Lake. Now open in Big Bear: Action Zipline, another event for your group to do.
BIG BEAR EVENTS... updated weekly, Big Bear Winter is coming but the Autumn activities and events that bring Big Bear Mountain Resorts to life in the rest of the year are just around the corner. At the Zoo our grandkids, enraptured, got a close-up look at a rescued bald eagle. They were even allowed to touch him. As the zoo volunteer told about the powerful bird perched on her arm, I was surprised to learn this male had a wingspan of about six and one-half feet, yet because of its hollow bones it weighed only about eight pounds.This reminded me of the majestic eagle I had seen soaring above the lake.
OMG I forgot to book a pet friendly cabin at Golden Bear Cottages in Big Bear
BIG BEAR LAKE >> Three-strike bears, a blind bunny, a huge mountain lion and movie industry wolves are among the 65 plus species of animals at the Big Bear Alpine Zoo, which can trace its roots back to a 1959 forest fire.
After years of planning, San Bernardino County Supervisors recently approved $7 million of general fund reserves for the zoo's relocation.
The 2.5-acre zoo, now at 43285 Goldmine Drive, will move about three-quarters of a mile north of the existing facility.
But don't go up there in a few weeks expecting to see something new.
The move will likely occur sometime in 2017, said Debbie Richardson, the zoo's general manager and curator since 2008.
In the meantime, staff will begin preparatory crating exercises, so animals will be more relaxed when the move occurs, Richardson said.
"Relocating the Big Bear Zoo will create a more dynamic and visitor-friendly park for residents throughout the county, the region, and the nation to enjoy while also providing a larger and improved space to nurture the injured animals who come to call it home," San Bernardino County Supervisor James Ramos said.
And that will help attract visitors, others said.
"What is exciting about the zoo and its future expansions is its ability to attract visitors to experience our natural resources and spend tourist dollars here," said Supervisor Janice Rutherford.
At an elevation of 7,140 feet, the Big Bear Alpine Zoo says it is one of the nation's two zoos located at significant elevation, with the other being in Denver.
Originally, the Big Bear zoo, formerly called Moonridge Animal Park, was a place where animals injured in the roaring fire of 1959 could recuperate, although for some, returning to the wild was not an option.
And that's how the zoo part of the operation began, according to the Big Bear Alpine Zoo website.
During a recent visit, someone brought in an injured duck and another person brought in a bag with nearly 20 snakes.
The zoo's lofty perch above Big Bear Lake has its advantages and disadvantages.
During a recent late season storm, high winds and snowfall kept an Orange County family visiting the zoo holed up inside the gift shop.
But that high altitude, cool environment is the reason the zoo was the selected site for two snow leopard sisters, expected to arrive later this year, Richardson said.
Many of the zoo's bears and lions have long rap sheets.
A female grizzly bear and her two offspring were expelled from Yellowstone National Park because of repeated instances of damaging campgrounds and businesses, Richardson said.
One included a break-in at a pie shop and the consumption of several pies,
"The mom was teaching her offspring not to fear humans," Richardson said.
A black bear zoo inhabitant broke into a beekeeper's property and ate $8,000 worth of honey, she said.
Big Bear Lake y Golden Bear Cottages es el unico centro turistico de alta montana en el Sur de California que esta de temporada durante todo el ano. Big Bear Lake esta ubicado en el San Bernardino National Forest, conocido por ser el mayor bosque urbano en el pais. Con una altitud de 7000 pies y gozando de mas de 300 dias soleados al ano, el esplendido clima, la belleza escenica y la amplia gama de actividades recreativas hacen de Big Bear el lugar ideal para disfrutar de unas perfectas mini vacaciones familiares, actividades al aire libre y salidas romanticas con su pareja.Ve BigBearHoteles.com Para hablar con un representante en espanol, llame Golden Bear Cottages por telephono al 909-866-2010
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