There’s a birthday party in Athens this weekend, but before you wrap a present, you might want to meet the guests of honor. Athens’ Bear Hollow Zoo celebrates the birth of its three resident bears. Female black bears, Athena and Yonah, turn four years old, and D.J., a male, rings in eleven years. The bears were not all born on the same day, but the zoo’s program specialist Jenny Kvapil explains spring is birthday season. “Black bears, just like all the other baby animals out there are born in the spring, so springtime is really birthday season for everybody.”
Kvapil says they have a number of special events planned. “We’re planning to give the bears a birthday cake and some presents. The birthday cake will be bear-friendly food items that they’ll really enjoy, and the presents will be kind of wrapped up paper boxes with treats inside that they can explore and have fun with.” Kvapil also assured that there would be cake for people to eat as well. Visitors can participate in a special crafts workshop as part of the fun.
The festivities kick off at 2:00 pm on Saturday and things wrap up at 5:00 pm. Admission to the zoo is free, but donations are encouraged.
