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Grizzly pen at Aldergrove zoo gets extreme makeover

Shadow the grizzly got a renewed enclosure after last Saturday's windstorm.
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Shadow wandered through the revamped grizzly bear enclosure at the Greater Vancouver Zoo in Aldergrove on Saturday. The enclosure was repaired and renovated after being damaged from the Aug. 29 windstorm.

The windstorm hammered fences and caused an evacuation at the Greater Vancouver Zoo, but allowed for a renovation of its grizzly bear habitat.

On Aug. 29, when the storm hit Langley, trees and branches knocked down four fences around the zoo, said general manager Jody Henderson.

Four fences were knocked down. Two were “people fences,” which keep human visitors from touching the inner animal enclosures.

The other two fences included a fence around the black bear and coyote enclosure, and the fence around the enclosure holding Shadow, the zoo’s grizzly.

None of the incidents allowed an animal to escape.

However, Shadow had to be kept inside her smaller holding area while the main fence was repaired.

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During the repair work, Henderson said the zoo decided to do some work on the enclosure. It has become overgrown in recent years. Zoo staff can’t do extensive work without removing Shadow to her smaller secondary pen for quite a while, which they’re reluctant to do.

With no other place to keep her while the fences were fixed, they could go in and clear out the enclosure and change things up a bit.

“It’s going to be like a brand new enclosure,” Henderson said.

Shadow was released into the revamped enclosure on Saturday morning.



Matthew Claxton

About the Author: Matthew Claxton

Raised in Langley, as a journalist today I focus on local politics, crime and homelessness.
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