DJ was rescued after his mother was likely killed, according to Debbie Cylke, who took care of DJ as he recuperated. “If [the woman] hadn’t found him, [he] wouldn’t be alive,” Cylke told the Florida Times-Union in 2007.
DJ is a black bear.
DJ arrived at Bear Hollow Zoo in the fall of 2006, according to Bear Hollow Zoo’s website. Bear Hollow Zoo is a way to see these black bears, like DJ, in a controlled environment.
Bear Hollow Zoo, located in Memorial Park in Athens, Georgia, features native Georgia wildlife. According to Bear Hollow Zoo’s website, all of the animals at Bear Hollow Zoo have suffered some circumstance that prevents them from being released back into the wild. They live indefinitely at Bear Hollow Zoo, and serve as “ambassadors for their species.” The zoo features birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
According to the Wildlife Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the black bear has suffered a “serious population decline” in the past due to human activity. However, they have now reached a “healthy population” of 5,100.
Hollow trees are a “common den site” for bears in Georgia.
The Red & Black on Twitter: “The Bear Hollow Zoo will throw a birthday bash for Athens’ local bears, DJ, Yonah & Athena. https://t.co/UfJZM8UsOz pic.twitter.com/S5c8cD7lV3 / Twitter”
The Bear Hollow Zoo will throw a birthday bash for Athens’ local bears, DJ, Yonah & Athena. https://t.co/UfJZM8UsOz pic.twitter.com/S5c8cD7lV3
Bears aren’t the only wildlife you can encounter at Bear Hollow Zoo, though.
The eastern indigo snake, a reptile featured at Bear Hollow Zoo, is known to reside in the burrows of the Gopher tortoise. The Gopher tortoise can also be found at Bear Hollow – though in its own separate enclosure.
The eastern indigo snake is “federally threatened” in Georgia and Florida, due to habitat loss, according to Andrew M. Grosse of the University of Georgia in a species profile he created for the snake.
“They won’t bite humans, but they’ll pulverize a rattlesnake’s head,” Randy Tate, director of science and stewardship for The Nature Conservancy in Georgia, told the Florida Times-Union in 2009. “They’ll chew on it until the snake is dead.”
Gopher tortoises share their burrows with over 350 other species, making them a “keystone species,” according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Bear Hollow Zoo also has a collection of birds.
According to Bear Hollow Zoo’s website, its barred owl took up residence at the zoo in early 2012. His name is Hooch, and one of his eyes was surgically removed after being injured likely by a car.
A facility of the Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services Department, Bear Hollow Zoo is free to the public and it is open until 5 p.m. (with the exhibition hall closing at 4 p.m.).