Happy Birthday to Fudge

Fudge exploring her birthday treats

In January the keepers put on a very special celebration to mark the 35^th birthday of a very special resident. Believed to be the oldest of her kind in captivity, Fudge the bear was born in London Zoo on the 15^th January 1978.

She was born during Britain’s “Winter of Discontent” presided over by Labour Prime Minister, James Callaghan. When the BBC strikes allowed, the TV schedule at the time included the likes of Mr Benn, Jackanory, The Clangers and Crackerjack. She also shares her birthday with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929) and actor Lloyd Bridges (1913).

Fudge arrived at Dartmoor Zoo (then, Dartmoor Wildlife Park) in January 1981. She was later joined by Haley in 1988 and big male, Ben in 1993. Sadly, Ben passed away in 2012. Both Hayley and Fudge have spent the last 25 years together, 20 of those years in their current enclosure. As Bears in the wild only live to around 20 to 25 years at the most in the wild, a 35th birthday is one to celebrate.

To mark the occasion, the keepers prepared a teddy bears’ picnic complete with a bear sized Twister board. Careful consideration is needed when giving animals enrichment, so animal friendly materials were used such as water soluble glue and water based paints to ensure the Bears don’t come to any harm should they decided to eat some of their enrichment.

The enclosure was decorated with brightly painted recycled paper cups strung between the trees to give it a party atmosphere. Cardboard boxes that the keepers bring in from home were covered in wrapping paper and filled with scents such as curry powders and perfumes along with straw to fill them out to act as presents. We provided a piñata filled with nuts and treats and hung from a tree. As a special treat Hayley and Fudge were given sugar free blackcurrant jelly and a bear-friendly birthday cake which included essential vitamins and minerals, wholemeal flour, eggs and dried blueberries. All the treats were laid out in the enclosure with fresh fish, fruit and vegetables.

All of the animal staff were there to celebrate the big day. Watching the bears push their faces into the presents to cover themselves in the strong smelling scents and eating all the specially prepared food (especially the birthday cake) is a very rewarding part of the job.

The fact that Fudge is the oldest mammal in the zoo and is not the only reason her birthday deserves special attention. Whilst records from London Zoo indicate that she is a European Brown Bear, her physical characteristics suggest that she is actually a Syrian Brown Bear. Staff are working with experts at Plymouth University examining her DNA to establish her true heritage. If this is found to be the case, she will be the oldest bear of her kind in captivity.

Syrian Brown Bears are one of the most endangered sub species, listed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Whilst they can no longer be found in Syria, a military flight recently spotted some in Iraq via night vision cameras.

Apart from showing signs of arthritis in recent years, Fudge is in excellent health and very active for a lady of advanced years. Even at her age she can be expected to be around for quite a while yet. One famous Syrian bear, Kara from Vienna Zoo, lived to 41 years old.

Hollie Dutton
Keeper

DNA Mystery

Fudge: European or Syrian?

Here at Dartmoor Zoo there are two bears named Hayley and Fudge. It was originally believed that both were European Brown Bears, however there are notable differences between the pair. The most obvious differences, which indicate that Fudge may not be a European Brown Bear are the length of her claws, her overall size and fur colour. As a consequence, despite her records showing otherwise, we have long thought that Fudge is in fact a Syrian Brown Bear.

So, we decided to turn to scientists at Plymouth University for a definitive answer.

We contacted several zoos around Europe to find a collection willing to send hair follicles from a true Syrian Bear to compare to our own. Heidelberg Zoo in Germany kindly sent a sample of hair from a Syrian Brown Bear in their collection. We also took samples from our own bears, a process which thanks to their training was stress free for all concerned.

Dr Mairi Knight of Plymouth University’s School of Biomedical and Biological Sciences is currently working with the samples. At this point, it’s important to point out to all readers familiar with CSI that DNA sampling isn’t a straightforward case of shaking liquids about in test tubes.

The first step is to extract DNA from all the samples. Whilst extracting DNA from hair is now routine in many laboratories, since there is not much DNA contained in hair (the main source being from the follicle cells in the root) yields of usable material can be very small. To get at the DNA the scientist will digest the cells using particular enzymes to free up the DNA, and then carefully remove the other cellular material by a process of ‘chemical washing’ to leave a clean solution of just DNA. In mammal hair often colour pigments can inhibit part of the later processing and so care needs to be taken to ensure that these are also removed.

Once the DNA material has been isolated, a technique called ‘PCR’ (Polymerase Chain Reaction) is then used to amplify a small section of DNA into enough copies for analysis.

This final step involves using a Genetic Analyser which highlights the particular strands of interest. DNA sections or ‘regions’ that are known to be particularly useful for tracing the ancestry of a species will then be screened. The exact sequence of DNA from Fudge and the comparison brown bear samples can then be analysed for similarities and differences, allowing Fudge’s most likely ancestry to be determined.

There are many subspecies of the Brown Bear, which have adapted to different habitats making the specie as a whole more diverse. Brown Bears are distinguished from others by their shoulder hump, the consequence muscles specially adapted for digging. They have the widest distribution of any of the bears and can be found in Europe, Japan, North Asia and other places. Subspecies of the Brown Bear include the Alaskan, Asiatic and European Brown Bear, as well as the Grizzly Bear, Himalayan Snow Bear, Kodiak Bear and the Syrian Bear.

European Brown Bears have small, round ears and have brown fur ranging from yellow to dark brown. They can be found in Northern Europe and Russia and are the most widely distributed subspecies of bear.

Syrian Bears are the smallest subspecies of Brown Bear and the only Bear known to have long white claws. Their fur is very light brown while the fur on the shoulders has a darker grey base. Also, on some Bears there is a dark stripe running down the back.

Syrian Bears are found generally in the mountainous areas in Iran, Iraq, Turkey and the former Soviet Union, however due to habitat loss and poaching, the population is in decline. They can no longer be found in Syria.

Fudge is a very special part of the DZP collection. If our suspicions are confirmed, she will be the oldest of her kind in captivity (she recently celebrated her 35^th birthday). However, the search for a definitive answer to the question of Fudge’s origins is a lengthy and complex process and there’s even the possibility that the results will raise more questions. There are some within the scientific community that believe, despite the obvious physical differences between what we term to be European and Syrian Brown Bears, that at a genetic level there is a case for declaring no difference at all.

We’re very much looking forward to seeing where our investigations will take us.

Hollie Dutton
Keeper

Farewell to Ben

Ben the bear 1991 - 2012

It was with great sadness that the zoo lost a big character last year; Ben, our male European Brown Bear, passed away in October at the age of 22. Following extensive consultation with vets he had been diagnosed with an untreatable spinal abscess resulting in paralysis in his back leg. We found ourselves faced with one of those decisions that is straight-forward, yet incredibly difficult to make. He was put to sleep on the morning of 18^th of October.

Born in 1991, Ben arrived at Dartmoor Zoo two years later in 1993. He became a well known character and firm favourite with visitors. Before the zoo was taken over, visitors could feed the bears from the viewing area. This created unnatural behaviours such as begging in which the bears would sit up and raise their paws in the air. Once this was stopped and a more suitable and regulated diet of scattered fruits, vegetables, fish and meat was put in place, the begging also stopped. All three of the bears began foraging naturally for their food and managed to shed a few pounds in the process. Despite this change in diet Ben’s favourite meal never changed, it was always a Cornish pasty.

Known to many as a greedy bear, Ben would frequently let the keepers know if they were taking too long to get the food into the enclosure, huffing and grumbling in annoyance. He would always be first out at feed times picking through the meal for his much-loved grapes, as a result he was often seen sleeping off a full belly.

My personal favourite Ben moment occurred when three male members of staff spent three hours of hard graft preparing enrichment by digging a 1.5 metre tube into the ground with spades; the thought was that the bears have to work a bit harder for their food, sniffing it out and reaching into the tube to retrieve it. Ben had other ideas and within 30 seconds had ripped the tube out of the ground and was happily munching on an apple. The look on their faces was priceless.

Ben’s domineering size and personality ensured the other bears were kept on their toes whilst his strength and excellent sense of smell kept keepers on the ball, thinking of novel ways to provide enrichment. He is sorely missed by staff and visitors alike but maybe most of all by the companions he leaves behind, Hayley and Fudge.