In polar bear parlance, an “enrichment item” is a toy, or anything else that stimulates the bear mentally or physically.
That’s one fact you would learn during one of two daily bear talks by staff at the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat.
Animal care team member Amy Baxendell is among those who give the talks about the three bears who live there.
“A lot of their toys are actually kids’ plastic toys. We get them donated from the local daycare centre, which is really nice. Yeah, and the bears love to play with them.
“They can go swimming as well in this weather. Our pool stays open year round. There’s also lots of plant life, trees, logs for them to interact with.
The Habitat is open right through the holidays, except New Year’s Day, and it’s only open until noon on New Year’s Eve.
