TRU bear cage (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

BEAR CAGE

TRU welding students deliver new bear cage to BC Wildlife Park

Aug 9, 2024 | 6:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — A federal grant program has helped both the BC Wildlife Park and Thompson Rivers University trades programs as they partnered to create a new bear cage for the park. The Foundations Welding class worked over the past few months to create a cage that bear keepers can use to safely weigh the giant animals and also allow them easier access for vet exams and drawing blood.

Months of hard work came to fruition on Friday (Aug 9) morning, as TRU’s welding class delivered their bear cage to the Wildlife Park.

“I was excited I though it was a cool project to work on, other than some of the other more basic projects like a gazebo or something. I though a bear cage was an enticing aspect, something kind of interesting that could go to a good cause,” said TRU welding student Alex Markin.

The students were led by Peter Robertson who designed the blue prints for his class to follow, helping put all their practice into a full fabrication project.

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“It’s really rewarding to see the things that you make because quite often at school we are just practicing on a little piece of material or on larger projects as a welder you see just a small component of what you make,” said Robertson. “So this is a great project because we start with materials you end up with a finished project. It’s really rewarding.”

The cage will eventually be used by all the bears at the park but for now will be situated in the enclosure that is home to Clover, the Wildlife Park’s Kermode bear.

“The bears are pretty terrifying, but it’s going to be pretty cool to see something that we actually built to be used to help wildlife get better because I’m pretty sure we are using it for vet purposes. So, that is pretty cool to see,” said TRU welding student Josh Thom.

The bear keepers will soon begin the long process of acclimatizing the bears to the new contraption, noting it could takes months for the animals to be comfortable.

“That process can take anywhere from days to months, it just depends on the animal,” said BC Wildlife Park primary bear keeper Dannielle Rogers. “So, with Clover he tends to be a little bit more sensitive to things so he may take a little bit longer than say Tuck will who doesn’t seem to mind too much of anything. It really is dependent on the animals so you work with that.”

For that reason, a volunteer bear stepped in to provide a demo, showcasing the scale and removal bars for vet services.

“It’s nice to work towards an end goal and look at the prints as a group, and get to collaborate as a group of people together. So it was a lot of fun,” added Markin.

Both the park and the TRU are hoping to partner again soon on projects around the grounds.