Event date: SATURDAY, JANUARY 17
Event place: San Bernardino County Museum, Redlands

Contact: Gerald Braden, research biologist, (909) 307-2669 ext. 251 / TDD/TTY: (909) 792-1462.
Or Jennifer Reynolds, media specialist, (909) 798-5048

LEARN ABOUT BEARS AT COUNTY MUSEUM

Gerald Braden, San Bernardino County Museum research biologist, will give a public gallery talk on Saturday, January 17 starting at 1 p.m. at the museum in Redlands. The presentation is free with museum admission.

Braden will meet visitors in the museum's Hall of North American Mammals to talk about bears. His emphasis will be on the black bears that now inhabit the Southern California mountains, but he will also provide information about other bear species, about animals that are really not bears (such as pandas), and about bear behavior and human interfaces. Questions from visitors will be encouraged.

"Black Bears are unique and adaptable animals," said Braden. "I've studied them for years and I'm still amazed at their intelligence, adaptability, tolerance, and gentle nature."

Gerald Braden is a resident of Angelus Oak_. He has worked with the biological sciences division of the San Bernardino County Museum since 1993 and is its current head. A graduate of Cal Poly Pomona, his research specialties are local birds, mammals, reptiles, and field studies of southwestern ecosystems. Before coming to the museum, he worked for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on life-history studies of the California Gnatcatcher.

The San Bernardino County Museum is at the California Street exit from Interstate 10 in Redlands. The museum is open Tuesdays through Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Christmas Day and New Year's Day). Admission is $6 (adult), $5 (student or senior), and $4 (child aged 5 to 12). Children under 5 and Museum Association members are admitted free. Parking is free, and the facility is handicapped-accessible. Lunch and snacks are available at the museum's Garden Café between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. For more information, visit www.sbcountymuseum.org or call (909) 307-2669 / TDD/TTY: (909) 792-1462.