After a pretty trite and unexciting day at the Pacific beach yesterday, we figured it was time to heed our calling: to probe the rumors of a very special and equally rare San Diego bear. And boy, did we find several! But were any of them the one we were seeking so desperately?

After about 20 minutes of bussing, we eventually wound up at the place of irrevocable truth. The biologist in us surfaced as we approached the entrance to one of the most famous zoos in the world: the San Diego Zoo.

Me feeling the biology vibe.

We quickly went in line, bought our tickets and entered the vast area. With map in hand, we swore not to leave a stone unturned. The hardest choice to make was where to begin our search for the Bear of all bears. We agreed to take the northern path first, which would lead us to the Lost Forest.

Having barely entered the trail, we were suddenly greeted by loud howls that sounded like a congregation of Tarzans on steroids. Deeply curious, we strode off into the so-called forest and eventually found ourselves before a giant cage with hollering members of Nomascus gabriellae, or Gabrielle’s Crested Gibbons. These furry fellows comprise an endangered species that resides in the tropical forests in eastern Cambodia, southernmost Laos and southern Vietnam. Sadly, we didn’t get their cries on tape.

A gibbon hollering to attract its female counterpart.

Although fascinated by the gibbon’s relentless outcries, we continued down the trail and entered the Scripps Aviary, where we found a peculiar-looking bird perching on top of an erected log. This little dame bird here is a female Waldrapp Ibis, a species naturally hailing from Morocco and Algeria.

The Waldrapp Ibis.

Pretty cool bird, huh? Well, we realized pretty quickly that it wasn’t exactly the animal we were looking for, despite its awesome appearance. So we left the Aviary and went deeper into the forest. During our little excursion through this area, we encountered lots of cool species, but unfortunately, we don’t have the time or space to comment all of them. (We do plan to set up a San Diego Zoo web gallery as soon as we get the time. Make sure you check it out once it’s up!). However, just because it’s so darn cute, I just have to show you a picture of the shy, little swamp monkey (see below).

Whatcha’ lookin’ at?

After an hour of walking, we reached the other end of the Lost Forest and ended up in Park Way. And really, what other uplifting sight could have met us than a seemingly endless queue of tourists mercilessly underlining a placard saying “Giant Panda Research Station.”

Adam frustrated with the park’s visitors, who can’t seem to appreciate the importance of our quest.

Thinking it would be wiser to get in line some time later that day, we continued onward until we came across a stand where an artist offered us to do a caricature of us. Of course we said yes!

Caricature of me and a black bear.

Caricature of Adam and the cutest polar bear ever.

After grabbing a bite to eat, we took the escalator up to the Elephant Odyssey. (No, we didn’t actually think there were any bears there. But come on, what’s wrong with a detour once in a while?) We now saw fit to get our first group picture of the day.

Adam and me and two five-ton Asian elephants at the Elephant Odyssey.

We also got close-ups of other elephants, such as the African bush elephant:

The intelligent African bush elephant.

Right around the corner, we came upon one of the coolest birds I’ve seen in my life: the secretary bird. (“No, they don’t take messages.”) These birds hunt on foot, stalking small mammals, birds, large insects, and snakes—even venomous ones. Looking at this feathered creature, there’s no wonder scientists think that birds are living descendants of the once-roaming dinosaurs.

The Secretary Bird hunting on foot.

For several hours, we followed the paths and trails leading to every nook and cranny of the gigantic park. We saw members of numerous bird species, such as the various turacos, the Helmeted Guineafowl, the white-bellied Go-away-bird, lapwings, owls, and also the Guam Rail, which is extinct in the wild. We also got to see gazelles, dik diks, okapis, members of the cat family, such as lions, the snow leopard, the jaguar and the lynx, and so much more. Then, at last, chancing upon the “Sun Bear Trail”, we found what we were looking for: members of the Ursidae family!

“Look! We found bears!” From left to right: Sun bear #1, sun bear #2, eccentric ape.

The fully awesome sloth bear.

The spectacled bear found from Venezuela to Bolivia.

Unfortunately, we came across these bears in the middle of the day, and it was also extremely hot. Hence, we found most of them dozing and doing absolutely nothing in their dark caves. We saw glimpses of them, but our cameras didn’t. So, to sum it up, these lazy guys didn’t want their picture taken:

The lazy members of the Ursidae family.

Pretty sad considering we’re looking at the world’s largest carnivore found on land, the polar bear!

Maybe we found most of these guys catching a wink, but you can tell from this picture that we are still happy with the result.

Adam and me rejoicing.

Reaching the end of the road, we found a funny, little creature with fluffy ears and gray fur, clinging to the branches of a tree. In retrospect, we’re actually a bit ashamed of ourselves, being biology students and all. Obviously, this had to be a bear, right? It was a Koala bear, for frak’s sake! It turns out, however, the Koala is a marsupial because of its pouch. Here’s the proof:

Adam is completely blown away by this ghastly revelation.

Dumbfounded and dizzy, the two amature biologists turned back and followed their own tracks back to the place that once held a mile-long queue of panda-digging tourists. Now, there was no problem at all; there were actually almost no people in line. So, we just trodded inside, cameras at the ready, and witnessed the critically endangered giant panda! By then, we had actually completely exhausted the batteries of all our three cameras, so we had to kindly ask other people to take a picture of us using their camera and our SD card. Fortunately, they were very understanding, and we got the photos we wanted!

One of the remaining 1 600 Giant Pandas on our planet.

Okay, to sum it all up, we encounted several bears, most of which were lazy and drowsy. We also learned that the Koala isn’t really a bear at all (FYI: There are only eight extant bear species left on Earth). But the fact remains that our challenge is still standing. We won’t leave San Diego until we’ve found a bear that has a goatee, that can play the accordion, and that preferably composes music for famous TV-series. We’re not giving up hope, guys. The quest is not over!

Cheers from San Diego Zoo!

Semper Vigilans!