By Matt Kyle | Staff Writer
It’s hard to imagine Baylor without thinking of the school’s iconic mascots. For over 100 years, American black bears have served as the symbol of Baylor. Throughout the years, they have attended football games, guzzled Dr Pepper and acted as a common link for generations of Baylor alumni.
The current bears, Joy and Lady, reside at the Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat located in the heart of campus, bringing in 250,000 visitors each year. It hasn’t always been this way, as many previous bears were housed off campus in zoos, and one of the bears, Joe College, even lived in his owner’s backyard.
The very first on-campus habitat, nicknamed the “Bear Pit,” was dedicated in 1945 and featured a swimming pool and areas for the bears to walk and climb. In 1977, the bears got an upgrade, and the Steve Hudson Bear Plaza was constructed. The new facility was three times larger than the old one and had a waterfall and AstroTurf. Both of the previous facilities were located along the banks of Waco Creek, the same spot the current habitat is today.
According to Dakota Farquhar-Caddell, the Robert Reid Director of the Baylor Chamber of Commerce, the current bear habitat was constructed in 2005 with intentions of a “bear’s dream world.” The 2,000-square-foot facility features three caves, a waterfall, three wading ponds, a night-house and more, which Farquhar-Caddell said is rated for a category-five hurricane and is the safest place on campus. The facility is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and is licensed by the USDA as a Class-C zoo. It also has technologies such as water pumps with a filtration system, hydraulic-powered hands-free doors, security cameras, motion sensors and a kitchen stocked with all of Joy and Lady’s favorite snacks.
Joy and Lady are cared for daily by the Baylor Chamber of Commerce’s Bear Program, which is almost entirely made up of students, for over 80 years.
The two lead trainers, Grapevine junior Abby Tanner and Plano senior Brandon McClain, oversee all of Joy and Lady’s daily feedings and enrichment activities.
The bears’ day starts at around 8:30 a.m., when Tanner and McClain arrive at the habitat. McClain said Lady and Joy can hear their vehicles when they pull up and will sit and watch their “favorite show” as the food gets prepared in the kitchen through a window in their enclosure.
Most of Joy and Lady’s food is provided by Aramark food services and comes from Penland Dining Hall. Their diet consists of raw beef, chicken, turkey, tuna and salmon as well as a wide range of fruits and vegetables, including apples, oranges, cherries, pears, berries, lettuce, avocados, carrots and apricots.
McClain said after eating breakfast, Joy and Lady find somewhere to nap until their mid-day enrichment activities ensue around noon.
“We have enrichment toys like a red ball that we put nuts in and [Joy and Lady] have to get the nuts out,” McClain said.
The enrichment activities are meant to stimulate the bears’ brains and keep them active.
There is also a series of enrichment activities unique to Baylor football game days. Even though Joy and Lady haven’t attended a game since 2009, football games are played over the habitat’s speakers so they can still hear the game. In 2019, the Bear Program constructed a mock-ESPN College Gameday desk for Joy, where she picks her prediction Other game day enrichment activities include snacks themed with the opposing team and for the most recent Kansas game, the destruction of a Jayhawk-themed birdhouse.
Once or twice a week, Joy and Lady are taken to a bigger off-campus facility where they can climb trees and dig holes. The big bear playground also gives Joy and Lady more privacy and allows the trainers to train them without an audience.
Because the bears were born into captivity, trainers train them to do various “learned behaviors” they would otherwise learn in the wild. The Baylor Sic ‘em is a natural movement for bears in the wild to bat food out of trees making it easy for both Joy and Lady to do. Although because she is left-paw dominant, Lady is the only Baylor Bear allowed to do a Sic ‘em with her left hand.
“She’s just a left-paw dominant bear,” McClain said. “Joy is also able to smile. She’ll open her mouth really wide and smile for us.”
In addition to taking care of the bears, the Chamber of Commerce also educates the community about conservation of black bears and general safety guidelines for dealing with black bears in the wild.
Farquhar-Caddell said the Chamber has partnered with Texas Parks and Wildlife to preserve bear habitats all over the state.
“This year, we hope to take an annual trip out to one of the Texas parks and do some actual manual labor around habitat rehabilitation for black bears,” Farquhar-Caddell said. “Black bears are making a resurgence in Texas, which we’re really excited about.”
Joy and Lady are biological sisters, born in 2001 and 2002, respectively. They each have a twin brother as well, named Ben and Cody, who have acted in TV shows and movies.
Tanner said the bear habitat is a “safe, inviting and peaceful space” for anyone to come and enjoy the presence of Joy and Lady. McClain called the bears a “stagnant tradition” of Baylor that ties many different generations of students together.
According to Tanner and McClain, the best times to see Joy and Lady are around 9 a.m., when they eat breakfast, and around noon, when the trainers engage them in their mid-day enrichment activities.
“Anyone can go and see them. They’re right here in the middle of campus,” McClain said. “Everyone knows the Baylor Bears, and I think they are one of the most beautiful traditions [we have].”
