If you were unsatisfied with the way the writers of the Sopranos left the subplot about the black bear in Tony's yard last season, take heart. The Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange has picked up the theme and is running with it.

The zoo announced last week that it's planning a $1.2 million exhibit, to open next spring, which will give visitors a chance to see the bear the way Tony saw it: in the backyard.

"Bears are somewhat misunderstood," said zoo director Jeremy Goodman, who came up with the idea shortly after taking over his job five months ago. "They're there and we're here and we really have to learn to co-exist."

Of course the spectre of a bear in the back yard has been all too common in the Western part of the state -- which led the state to allow a one-week bear hunt last December. In Essex County, the only sighting we know of was the one on the Sopranos.

Goodman says the exhibit will also include wildlife suburbanites want to attract -- like hummingbirds and butterflies -- as well as bear-proof garbage cans with signage explaining how to make trash bear-proof. Will Tony be there? Goodman's not telling, except to say, "There will be surprises everywhere."

As a bonus, Essex County is holding a contest to name the two black bear cub orphans, which will be aquired next spring. Orphans, huh...? Annie? Oliver?

July 28, 2004 in Wildlife | Permalink