It’s always wonderful to capture the connections between the zoo guests or staff members and the Kodiak bears Munsey and Boda!
Category: Marshfield Wildwood Park and Zoo
This selection of photographs were taken on my birthday. I spent about an hour watching Munsey and Boda relaxing in the JP Adler Kodiak Bear Habitat area and then splash around in the pond located in the Bear Woods. Munsey’s weight is about 760 lbs. and Boda’s weight is about 840 lbs.
On April 20th, 2018 Munsey’s weight is about 760 lbs. and Boda’s weight is 840 lbs.
On January 2016 Munsey’s weight was 175 lbs. and Boda’s weight is 185 lbs.
On January 9, 2017 Munsey’s weight was 506 lbs. and Boda’s weight was 545 lbs.
On February 1st, 2018 Munsey’s weight was 680 lbs. and Boda’s weight is 760 lbs.
It’s hard to believe that these two brothers collectively weigh around 1,610 lbs. with that amount of weight and the incredible amount of strength these two Kodiak bears have, I wouldn’t want to get in-between them while they’re giving each other a bear hug!
Munsey and Boda appear to enjoy wrestling with each other in the pond located in the Bear Woods section of the habitat area.
Munsey and Boda also enjoy playing with beer keg that floats around the pond.
Boda has once again taken to the tree’s in hopes of retrieving those tender buds and branches to snack on this morning. Boda is 840 lbs. and it’s unbelievable as to the heights he climbs most mornings. The tree’s must be incredibly strong to withstand Boda’s weight.
While observing Boda the past few mornings, I noticed that the tree branches don’t make any cracking sounds from the weight of this three year old Kodiak bear until he begins his descent back to the ground. As much as I love watching Boda climb high up into the tree’s, I’m hoping he stops climbing very soon because I’m a little concerned about him falling out of the tree.
There appears to be a smile on Boda’s face as returns to the ground after he’s dropped a large branch with tender buds, down to the ground to snack on with his brother Munsey.
Register to participate at the Be the Bunny Event held at Marshfield Wildwood Zoo held on March 25th at 10:00 am!
This bear basket is just one of many silent auction items that you can bid on to help support the Marshfield Wildwood Zoo!
My latest book title “Branch Management” is included in the bear basket, along with other Munsey and Boda themed products, including 10-greeting cards, 1- journal, 3- 5″x 7 “photographs, 1 bear book and two stuffed bears.
Munsey and Boda must have a craving for those tender new leaves growing on the trees because the boys are once again climbing to great heights to get a nibble on the second full day of Spring.
This is a photograph of Boda , as he straddles on a relatively small tree branch. Boda now weighs 840 pounds and still manages to mobilize all that weight 30 plus feet up the tree!
Munsey’s weight is 760 pounds. While I was observing the bears today Munsey didn’t climb much more than three feet up the tree trunk. This isn’t unusual for Munsey, he’s always had a tenancy to not climb as high up into the tree tops as his brother Boda.
If your interested in stopping to visit Munsey and Boda and hope to see them tree climbing then stop in and visit them at the Marshfield Wildwood Zoo in by around 10:00 -11:00 am.
I’m not sure where the time has gone but Munsey and Boda are 3 years old today!
(Above) Munsey and Boda 1/2016 – The weight of Boda is about 192 lbs. and Munsey is about 185 lbs.
These two sweet hearts have had many adventures since they were born and it’s a blessing in it’s self that the cubs survived after their mother was shot illegally. Five days after their mother was killed the cubs were rescued by the Dodge Hunting party assisted by Nate Svobda and nursed back to health by the Anchorage Zoo staff and the rest is history!
(Above) Boda and Munsey 2/2017 – Munsey’s weight was around 450 lbs and Boda’s weight was about 470 lbs.
(Above) Munsey and Boda 2/2018 The weight of Munsey is around 720 lbs. and Boda is around 820 lbs.
(Above) Boda and zoo guest 9/2017
(Above) 7/2017 -Myself with Boda
To learn more about Munsey and Boda, check out the books I’ve written documenting the growth and development of these two wonderful Kodiak bears. To purchase these books send an email to wendlandtsusan@gmail.com
The first time I ventured out this year to take photographs of Munsey and Boda was on January 4th,2018 and then I stopped by again on the 18th and 19th.
Since I hadn’t seen these guys that often this winter I contacted the zoo staff and informed them I’d made an ice globe frozen fruit treat for Munsey and Boda.
It never ceases to amaze me at the the strength of the bears jaws bones. It usually takes Munsey and Boda about 10 minutes to finish this type of frozen fruit snack. If the bears are given regular fruit as a snack they pretty much inhale the fruit in a few minutes.
When I arrived at the zoo on January 18th, I was hoping to get some action shots of the cubs playing in the snow and this time of year I’m not sure what the cubs activity schedule is like because I just don’t get to spend as much time observing the them because of the cold weather.
So on this particular visit Munsey and Boda were just laying around, digging around under the snow and in-between the large tree trucks.
Just as I was about to leave, I bumped into some guests and spent some time sharing information about the rescue of Munsey and Boda and in doing so I stayed long enough to catch the two Kodiak brothers begin playing with each other in the snow.
The photograph above and below – Munsey is on the left and Boda is on the right.
The cubs had a grand time playing around and chasing each other in the snow that day.
(Photograph above) Munsey taking a sniff of the yummy stuff packed into the ice globes.
Munsey and Boda has a grand time chomping down on their frozen fruit globes filled with strawberries, banana’s, raspberries, peanut-butter, coconut, apple slices and a drizzle of honey!
I’m constantly amazed at the size and strength of the bears jaws! The smaller ice globes had at least an inch of ice shell with the fruit snacks packed into the center of the globes and the cubs bite, cracked the shell open without any struggles.
The small ice globes were made from 12 inch balloons and the larger ice globes were made from punch-balls filled with water and cracked open and stuffed with healthy bear snacks.
I observed how well behaved Boda was while Munsey finished off his small ice globe.
iMAGiNETHAT! 