How to clean antlers

Ok I know you couldn't sleep from all the excitement!  You have been waiting all day to hear how I cleaned antlers!  All right are you ready to hear this?...I don't think you are....well ok
So soaking the antlers overnight in soapy warm water did get the algea off.  However, when you have a whole pile of antlers to clean this could take a very long time.  Rick (another worker) came up with maybe trying to power wash them.  Genius!  Ok so after I powerwashed a good sized pile I decided that I was going to take a break, not to mention change clothes since I was soaked! 

I fed the bear cubs around noon and then Jordan and I spread peanut butter around their enclosure so they could find it and have a snack.  We also found a huge plastic ball that is made for carnivores to play with so we threw it in and watched to see what they would do.  Yeah, they didn't really care for it.  By the way, all of our fences have and extra electric wire that goes around them on the inside.  I have always known that one day I would slip and get shocked.  That day was today.  Well, at least I know how it feels now. 

 

Jordan and I then drove around to get some good pictures to send.  He wants to send some to National Geographic about our Wood bison program.  We are the only facility in North America that has Wood Bison.  That is the biggest project that we have going on right now at AWCC.  We are trying to re-introduce them to Alaska.  They used to be in large numbers until hunting almost completely wiped them out in Alaska.  Now they are only really found in large numbers in Canada.  So that was a little history lesson about what we are working on up here.  I some good pictures today so once Jordan emails them today I will post them soon!

Goodnight lower 48
ErIn


I also got to catch a sneak at the coyote today that lives in the same exhibit as the 3 Brown bears.....no wonder you don't see him much