Our Animals at Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure

Here in our zoo, you can get face-to-face with a rare white camel, and Indian rhino, a curious orangutan, an ornery aardvark or many of the other animals of the 105 species of wildlife at home in our zoo. Great care has been taken to provide our animals spacious and naturalistic environments throughout 65 acres of beautifully landscaped park.

Our Zoo Crew
As you stroll through the zoo, we hope you take the chance to visit with one of our zookeepers. This dedicated crew is a huge reason why visiting Rolling Hills is such a unique experience. They are specially trained to enhance the quality of life for out animals, which in turn helps the animals thrive and be extra responsive to zoo visitors. Our zookeepers know the animals well and are happy to relate their own insights of the many animal personalities here at Rolling Hills.


the Andean Black Bear

As dark settles in, the largest carnivore of South America emerges from its daytime hiding spot, next to the large roots of a tree. A cub may have been able to climb under the roots to hide a little better, but at 350 pounds there are not many root systems in which one can hide.

Using its claws, the Andean bear starts its climb. Up ten feet, another ten, another ten, and even higher it will climb in search of bromeliads and any other fruit it can find on its way. Over 50% of all it eats will be of different types of bromeliads. These epiphytes, which are plants growing above the ground using other plants for support, display their extremely colorful flowers throughout the rainforests and cloud forests of the Andean Mountain range. While climbing, if the fruit the bear comes across is not yet ripe, the bear will check back as many times as needed until it is ready to be eaten. As the bear climbs, birds have to be aware of its movements. The Andean bear is not opposed to snacking on one or two of them. In addition to catching animals and searching for fruit, it will also strip the tree bark while foraging for its meals. The powerful jaws and sharp teeth allow it to eat this bark that most animals cannot.

Living a solitary life, the bear does its foraging alone. The only time the 350 pound male will join another bear is during mating season, and that will only last one to two weeks. He will leave the female to care for the cubs when they are born, and she will have up to three cubs at a time with each weighing in at a mere 11 ounces.. A healthy cub will stay with its mother for six to eight months before it goes of to start its own solitary life.

The overall threat to the Andean bear lifestyle is habitat destruction. Even though hiding under and around the roots of large rainforest trees may be preferred, the destruction of its home has forced it to live in various habitats including grassland-like areas and coastal scrublands. Development of all kinds has increased over the years causing this decline. Up until the 1980’s, the adaptability of the bear being able to live in various habitats, including remote ones, instilled a false belief that there was little threat of them becoming extinct. It has since been realized that what spots they do occupy is grossly fragmented, which makes it difficult for the solitary individuals to find mates and offspring to go off and start a life of there own. They are currently listed as endangered by international treaties and organizations providing them with some of the protection needed.


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