Wildlife West Nature Park is seeking donations to feed Maggie, their 2-year-old bear who can consume up to 20,000 calories a day, after losing their source for donated produce.
EDGEWOOD, N.M. — A local wildlife park is asking for donations to help their bear pack on pounds before winter.
At just 2-years-old, Maggie the black bear has a ferocious appetite.
“She gets more hungry in the fall because she’s preparing for winter,” Senior Animal Keeper Michelle Fishburn said.
She moved into Wildlife West Nature Park in Edgewood last summer because she was a little too food motivated on her own.
“She was eating the dog food and kind of just being a nuisance. And so [The Department of] Game and Fish captured her with donuts, and they brought her here,” Fishburn said.
But maintaining Maggie’s diet, more than 20,000 calories a day, and feeding dozens of other animals at the volunteer-run park is taking a toll.
Until recently, a store donated leftover produce to the zoo. But a policy change means that agreement is gone, and in its place is a large food bill.
“This bear eats $1,000 a month of food,” Wildlife West Nature Park Founder and Director Roger Alink said. “Some months are more than that, so that’s quite a bit, plus all our other animals we feed. So we’re, we’re spending almost $4,000 a month.”
As they work to find another store willing to do the same, they’re asking our community for help to feed Maggie.
If you’d like to help Maggie out—it’s as simple as bringing the park a bag of apples.
“She loves any kind of fruit, pretty much, and she loves nuts. She does eat some vegetables too. She likes sweet potatoes and, you know, things that are a little sweeter,” Fishburn said.
The park is asking for food or money donations to help them, and Maggie, out—especially as we get closer to winter.
“She doesn’t really hibernate here, but she does get really slowed down in the winter, and then she won’t eat too much, and she just needs all that extra energy to keep her warm and to help her survive through the winter,” Fishburn said.
The park is open seven days a week, and it’s still operating on summer extended hours, which is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. During the winter, the hours are 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
You can drop off food donations in-person and also donate online.
Tickets for the park are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for students of all ages. Kids 4 and younger, active military members and veterans are free.
By the way, if you call ahead you can get a special tour and possibly hear some jokes from Alink like the following.
“Why is a bear in the desert like Christmas? Because they both have ‘sandy claws,’” he said.
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