San Antonio Zoo Celebrates Black Bears 10th Birthday

SAN ANTONIO — Two American black bears celebrated their 10th birthday today at the San Antonio Zoo with children, parents, members of the media and zoo staff.

Molly and Kashka, who were originally born in the wild, have been at the San Antonio Zoo for almost their entire life.

The two 350-pound bears shared two cakes made for them by Jennifer Banda in the Nutrition Center. One of the cakes was made of the bear’s daily omnivore chow, fruits and vegetables while the other was made out of a hollowed out watermelon.

“The cake itself is made up of omnivore chow, which is a chow that they normally eat on a day-to-day basis, crushed up and mixed together with some gelatin, honey, peanut butter, all squished together and shaped into a cake to make it more exciting for us to watch,” said San Antonio Zoo Training and Enrichment specialist Christina Burges.

In addition to the two cakes, the birthday girls were given presents filled with scented hay and vegetables.

The zoo will also hold a birthday party for Bubba the Komodo dragon’s 21st birthday Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Craig Pelke, curator of reptiles, amphibians and aquatics for the zoo, says he hopes the weather will be nice enough for Bubba to celebrate his birthday in the outside exhibit.