Meet Our Animals
See their photos and read their compelling stories.
 Puck is our male which was born in the wild in January 1996. His wing and tail feathers had
been cut off. Therefore, he cannot fly for a minimum of three years
until re-growth has completed. Another Kestral that came to the park is
Sienna
OUR BARN OWLS
The Moonridge Animal Park has four Barn Owls. Two were received in Spring
1995 as a gift from the Los Angeles Zoo, and another Barn Owl, Titan, is part of our
Wildlife Awareness Programs
presented to 40,000 school children each year.
Our most recent 2005 addition is Eileen.
OUR BEAVER
Timber is our male beaver. He was born in Big Bear in 2001.
 Black
Bears enjoy meat, but mostly eat many kinds of plants such as grasses,
marsh plants, nuts and berries. Male weigh from 250 to 600 lbs. and
grow to 6 ft. in length. They are, by nature, very shy. They
live 10-12 years in the wild, but up to 28 years in captivity.
Click here to view video
One of our Black Bears, Zuni, was found in a watermelon patch near Barstow; no mother was
around, so he was captured and brought to the Park. He was young and
very thin when he first arrived at the Park. He was born
approximately January 2001.
Hucklebeary is another of our Black Bears. He came to us as a very young cub in November 2002.
His severely fractured front leg, which was turning gangrene, had to
be amputated. Thanks to a great amount of tender loving care from
the keeper staff, he survived a large loss of blood and has a new home in
our Park.
Our third Black Bear is a female, who
was orphaned in Northern California in 2005. She came to
us from the California Fish & Game Department. She was a very
small under nourished baby with a bad skin infection, mssing lots
of hair, and very nervous. She now is healthy but imprinted on people and cannot be released. Some
members of the San Mauel Band
of Mission Inidans came to our park and conducted a
naming ceremony. Pakuma
is the name given to the first leader of the Yuhaviatam or People of the
Pines (The San Manuel Band of Mission Indian's own given name even
predating their Spanish given name Serrano Mission Indians), who lived in
the Big Bear Valley area. Therefore, naming the bear cub Pakuma, which means one who prays,
has special meaning to the tribe.
Moonridge Animal Park has three bobcats:
Tornado, Mica and Sassy.
Tornado came to the
Park after his mother was shot by a rancher. He was very young and was
non-releasable because he was imprinted upon humans and did not know how to
hunt.
Mica, a young female came to us
from another zoo.
Our other female bobcat, Sassy, came to
us off the mountain with a broken hip. She was injured in the
wild.
OUR COATIMUNDI
Coatimundi are members of the raccoon family and native
to Central and South America. We have two females, Cheyenne,
born in captivity in Simi Valley in 1999, and Peanut, who
came to MAP in 2000; she had been illegally brought to California
and was confiscated by the Department of Fish and Game. Her
nails and some of her fingers had been removed in an attempt to make
her a pet.
Click here to view video
 Lakota,
the female, was born on March 24, 1994 at the Wildlife Way station
in Tujunga, California.. She is non-releasable because she is imprinted on
man.
A male Coyote, named Link, came to us from
Victorville, where he was rescued after his mother was run over
by a car. Link was about 10 months old when he arrived
and has been accepted by Lakota.
 Adopted
as the national symbol of the United States in 1782, bald eagles
are one of the most spectacular and popular birds at Moonridge Animal
Park.
The bald eagle is the only eagle unique to North America, and was
once a common sight throughout the United States and most of Canada.
These powerful fliers can swoop out of the sky while hunting, remaining
in control while descending at 100 miles an hour. Yet despite the
strength and speed of this amazing bird, the entire species was
nearly wiped out in the lower 48 states by the pesticide DDT, which
caused birth defects and weakened eggshells. Downgraded to "threatened"
from "endangered" in 1995, the bald eagle is still fully
protected in the United States.
Click here to view video
Three of these magnificent creatures now residing at Moonridge Animal
Park have been rescued from nearly fatal brushes with man. All three
have broken or fractured wings, and cannot be re-released into the
wild.
Alaska is our male who was born in the early
1980s. He suffered a gunshot wound to his right wing and was rescued
by the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, which brought him to the Moonridge
Animal Park in 1993.
Yakima is one of our two females, and was born
in 1990. She was found on the Yakima River in Washington State with
a fractured right wing, probably from a gunshot. The wing healed
improperly, requiring Yakima to undergo a second surgery. She also
was a gift from the Woodland Park Zoo.
Yukon is our other female, who survived not only
a nearly fatal gunshot wound, but also being hit by a car! She was
rescued by the Washington State University Veterinary School, and
came to live at the Moonridge Animal Park in 1999. Although powerful
and sometimes difficult to work with, Yukon is taken offsite for
special educational purposes.
Even within the loving confines of Moonridge Animal Park, several
bald eagles formally living at the facility were still not safe
from man. In 1988, prior to the installation of a new security system,
three bald eagles were stolen from the park and tragically, were
found massacred in a ritual sacrifice on the shores of Big Bear
Lake. Alaska, Yakima, Yukon, and all Moonridge Animal Park inhabitants
are now safe in their habitats with a security system provided by
the Friends of the Moonridge Zoo.
 The
Moonridge Animal Park is also home to Golden Eagles.
Old Man, who is apparently 40-45 years old
(in 1994), entered captivity as an adult after being shot. He was
on exhibit at Pierce College in 1975. He is missing a part of a
wing. He is kept in the large enclosure with Lulubelle.
Lulubelle is around ten years old (in 1994)
and has been at the zoo since 1986. She had been removed from her
next as a baby before her eyes had focused (which happens at about
12 days). She is relatively tame and has no fear of humans. She
is non-releasable and is imprinted on man.
 Crimson and Clover are our two Fishers.
Click here to view video
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