Sidney Lamarre watched in amazement as Bruno, a bear, caught a ring Bearadise Ranch owner Monica Welde tossed at him and put it around his neck.Â
Lamarre, who is 11, and the other campers at Bearadise Ranch's Kamp Kodiak gave Bruno a round of applause while Bruno clapped along with them.Â
"(Camp) is really cool," Lamarre said about the weeklong camp. "I really like bears. They're my favorite animal, and I really like to learn about them."
Throughout Bearadise Ranch's first Kamp Kodiak June 6-10, Monica Welde taught campers about all about bears.
"I love the opportunity I have to teach the children about bears and what they face in the wild," Welde said. "They've learned a lot and had fun doing it. It's been a joy."
By the end of the camp, campers were able to answer any question she asked about bears.Â
Lamarre said she was surprised to learn bears eat 90 pounds per day. She thought they only ate 10 or 20 pounds.Â
Leighton Cracchiola, who is 11, thought grizzly bears could only be one color, but she learned they can be brown, black, white and cream colored.Â
Mia Dyer, who is 10, learned black bears can climb trees better than brown bears.
Besides learning about bears, campers participated in various activities including sack races, karaoke and water games. They also did arts and crafts such as making bear visors.
Sidney Lamarre and Leighton Cracchiola, who are both 11 years old, show off the bear visors they made. Lamarre and Cracchiola both say their favorite animal is a bear, which is why they wanted to participate in Kamp Kodiak.
Mia Dyer, who is 10, shows a photo of Lucy, a bear at Bearadise Ranch, performing with Lucille Ball. Dyer learned facts about every bear at Bearadise Ranch.
Matea Murariu, Emmy Dyer, Mia Dyer, Leighton Cracchiola and Sidney Lamarre spend time learning about every bear at Bearadise Ranch from owner Monica Welde.
Sidney Lamarre, Mateo Murariu, Emmy Dyer, Bjorn Welde-Thomas, Leighton Cracchiola and Mia Dyer have fun acting like they are at a campout.
Monica Welde, owner of Bearadise Ranch, shows off some tricks with Bambi and Bruno. Bruno is able to catch rings and put them around his neck.
Leighton Cracchiola and Sidney Lamarre, who are both 11, get a break from the heat while playing with squirt guns.
Matea Murariu, Mia Dyer, Emmy Dyer, Sidney Lamarre and Leighton Cracchiola sing the Kamp Kodiak song.
Emmy Dyer, who is 6, and Matea Murariu, who is 8, watch over the bears. The campers spend each morning of camp learning about bears.
Monica Welde, owner of Bearadise Ranch, gives treats to Bambi and Bruno.
Campers Emmy Dyer, Leighton Cracchiola, Sidney Lamarre, Bjorn Welde-Thomas, Mia Dyer and Mateo Murariu watch in amazement as Bruno, a bear, shows off some of his tricks.
Bjorn Welde-Thomas, who is 6, makes a run for it as other campers try to squirt him with water guns.
Mateo Murariu, who is 8, tries to squirt water on Bjorn Welde-Thomas, who is 6. Campers went on to play with water balloons, sing karaoke and participate in other activities.
Emmy Dyer, Sidney Lamarre, Mia Dyer and Leighton Cracchiola sing "Can't Stop the Feeling" during karaoke.
Bjorn Welde-Thomas, who is 6, and Mateo Murariu, who is 8, rock out with blow-up guitars while other campers sing karaoke.
Sidney Lamarre prepares to launch a water balloon. Lamarre says the water activities are her favorite part of camp besides learning about bears.
Mateo Murariu, who is 8, tries to throw water onto Renee Riddle, who is a camp leader.
Sidney Lamarre, who is 11, has fun playing a dice game that results in splashing other campers and Monica Welde, the owner of Bearadise Ranch, with water.
