Durham’s Bear Canyon
Cost: $1.4 million
Opened: 1989
Dedicated in 1989, Durham’s Bear Canyon features the largest of all bears, a polar bear, swimming in a
30,000-gallon pool with above and below water viewing. Malayan sun bears, black bears and Andean
bears are also on display.
Bear Training and Enrichment
Some of the bears in Durham’s Bear Canyon are trained to make medical procedures go as smooth as
possible with as little anesthesia as necessary. Along with the training, enrichment activities are provided
to the bears to stimulate their instincts and keep them keen. For instance, the polar bear’s favorite treats
are frozen blocks of ice with fish inside.
Visitors young and old enjoy watching these playful animals as they try to get to their fishy reward from
outside of the ice block.
Polar Bear
The polar bear enjoys Omaha’s winters. They are native to areas where the
water freezes in the winter, including regions of North America, Asia,
Europe and Greenland, and are known to have several denning areas in the
Arctic. They have black skin, which helps absorb heat in their cold
environments. Their individual hairs are hollow and colorless, but together
look white. This thick hair provides excellent camouflage and grows
between their toes to keep the bear's feet warm.
Being the largest of all bears and land carnivores, the polar bear can
measure up to nine feet long and five feet high at the shoulders and can
weigh up to 1,300 pounds.
Sun Bear
In contrast to the polar bear, the sun bear is the world's smallest bear. The sun bear can weigh between
60 to 140 pounds and reaches four feet tall. In the wild, a sun bear weighing more than 110 pounds is
larger than the average bear. The sun bear has thick black or brown fur with a yellowish crescent on its
chest, which is why they received the name sun bear. This mark varies in size on each bear and may not
even be present at all.
The sun bear is native to the forests of the Malay Peninsula, Java, Sumatra,
Burma and Thailand. Few sun bears are left in the wild. Due to habitat
destruction and lack of money in the nations where sun bears are found,
little research has been done to save these bears.
Andean Bears
Andean bears are native to the tropical Andes and are the only non-extinct
species of bear in South America. The bears can be found in a variety of
habitats from forests to grasslands to desert-like areas but are generally
found in high elevation forests and grasslands. They are omnivores and
enjoy fruits, plants and occasionally meat. They have black fur with a
distinctive beige coloring on their face and chests. Males can weigh anywhere from 286 to 440 pounds
and females 77 to 181 pounds.
Andean bears are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List for Endangered Species due to habitat loss,
fragmentation of their habitat and poaching. Over the last 20 years, efforts have been made to protect
the bears, but information about the number of Andean bears in their natural habitat is outdated or nonexistent. This makes it difficult to develop realistic management plans for the conservation of this species.
A Species Survival Plan (SSP) has been created for the Andean bears as it is estimated that by 2030, they
will be listed as Endangered on the IUCN list.
American Black Bear
American black bears are found through Canada, United States and the northern half of Mexico. It is
estimated there are around 300,000 bears found in the wild through the U.S. (excluding Alaska) and
Canada. They prefer temperate and boreal forests. The American black bear is an omnivore, choosing its
diet based on their location and the season. They can hibernate up to seven months depending on where
they are, as food is more readily available during the winter months in some areas. They are listed as
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List for Endangered Species as they are growing in population in the wild.