North American Bear Center

09/07/2026

09/06/2026

Want to be as cool as our interns? Rock some Bear Center apparel! 👕🐻🛍

Shop in-store or online at store.bear.org

09/05/2026

The North American Bear Center would like to wish you all a Happy International Day of Charity!

As a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity, every person who passes through the front doors has contributed to keeping our bears, reptiles, amphibians, and fish happy and healthy. Thank you for your visits, gift shop purchases, and donations that all go to supporting our mission to advance the long-term survival of bears worldwide by replacing misconceptions with scientific facts about bears, their role in ecosystems, and their relations with humans.

If you'd like to continue to support the Bear Center, visit https://bear.org/support-us/donate/ or explore other options on our website at bear.org.

09/05/2026

Happy back to school season from the North American Bear Center! 🐻🐢✏

And hey... need the perfect field trip for your little explorers? Consider a group visit to the NABC!

Plan your group visit here: https://bear.org/education/group-visits/

09/04/2026

Happy Friday- it's Bear News day! Grab the closest tub, get comfy, and get readin'! 😆🐻

Link to Bear News: https://bear.org/bear-news-september-4-2026/

📸Tasha by 2026 summer bear intern Sam

09/04/2026

Happy National Wildlife Day! 🎉

National Wildlife Day is a day of raising awareness and learning more about all the different organisms that make our natural world go 'round! There are two different days this is celebrated in the United States- the first on February 22nd in honor of animal behaviorist Colleen Paige. The second, today, in honor of wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin.

There are so many ways to get involved with National Wildlife Day! Volunteer at a local wildlife center, study up on a new animal, clean up your local community, advocate, or help us celebrate our local Northwoods wildlife by making a donation to our bear care and food fund using the link below! Thank you for all of your support today and every day 😁🐻

📸Dr. Rogers

09/03/2026

Gulp! Tuck is hungry...

Tuck is munching on some strawberry, but if you watch closely, he fully submerges his food underwater before consuming it. This is a behavior that all Western painted turtles (Chrysemys picta bellii) engage in, and they do this for several reasons.

1. They don't have the ability to swallow. Painted turtles don't have saliva to lubricate dry food for easy movement into the stomach. They have to use water as a vacuum to suck the food down into their bellies.
2. Western painted turtles cannot chew but rather have a beak made of keratin that they use to disable prey by chopping it in half. This breaks food down into smaller pieces to swallow.
3. Their tongues are fixed to the bottom of their mouths, so they are unable to manipulate food within their mouth and properly position it for swallowing.

📸 Video by staff member, Macy
**p **ps **ping **potology

09/03/2026

Do you need everyone to know that you're REALLY INTO BIRDS? Well then, this is absolutely the statement piece for you! 🦉🦆🦅

The little pocket notebook is perfect for tallying your point counts or sketching familiar species, and the socks are... perfectly matched! 🧦📓🐦

09/03/2026

What happens in the life of a black bear in September? 🐻

Food sources like hazelnuts begin to wane on the landscape, causing most bears to begin to lose weight. While acorns do not grow in abundance here in northeastern Minnesota, bears with access to the ripening mast will continue to forage and gain weight. Some bears may begin to prepare a den for hibernation, although den preparations may start as early as July. Bears may begin to enter their dens for hibernation, typically pregnant females being the first. Energy levels in adult bears decreases, and cubs stop nursing.

📸Dr. Rogers