Suzie the black bear digs into her birthday cake of fruit during a special event at Maine Wildlife Park in Gray on Sunday. Suzie came to the park when she was a cub and is now 30 years old. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

GRAY — A bear-y good day was in store for one of Maine Wildlife Park’s most iconic residents Sunday.

Suzie the black bear celebrated her 30th year over the weekend with presents, cake and plenty of snacks. The “Bear Birthday Bash” brought hundreds of visitors to the park, all hoping to get a glimpse of Suzie and her enclosure-mate, 7-year-old Luvey.

Suzie came to Maine Wildlife when she was just a cub, when another facility could no longer care for her. She’s lived a pretty long life for a black bear, an animal capable of reaching its 30s in the wild. Kate Donovan, a wildlife keeper at the park, has known Suzie for most of those 30 years – even before she worked at the park.

Visitors to Maine Wildlife Park in Gray watch as Suzie the black bear celebrates her 30th birthday. Spectators were allowed to feed Suzie and her enclosure mate by shooting berries and grains through a small hole using a leaf blower. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

“I grew up coming here to see Suzie, now I take care of her,” Donovan said.

Suzie, her black fur covered in edible sparkles, tore into packages filled with dog kibble and peanut butter and devoured a towering bear-shaped cake of fruit, made specially for her by volunteers from the Friends of the Maine Wildlife Park.

Spectators waited in line to shoot berries and grains through a small hole in the enclosure using a leaf blower, periodically releasing a shower of snacks on Suzie and Luvey.

The snacks and presents were all a part of the essential enrichment activities that Department of Fisheries and Wildlife employees provide for all the animals at the park.

“(Planning the event) was a lot of, ‘what could we do that was good for the bears, and for people to see?'” said keeper Taylor Scruton. “Trying to keep people involved and able to participate, while still giving (the bears) their usual level of care.”

Visitors Maxim Davis of Old Orchard Beach and Brenna Gibbons of Waterville heard about the event online. They weren’t only there to celebrate Suzie’s birthday, though – Davis was also turning 30. And what better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than with your bear birthday twin?

Katie Donovan, Maine Wildlife Park’s wildlife keeper, delivers Suzie the black bear’s fruit birthday cake, which she made with Jadee Ristich of Friends of Maine Wildlife Park. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

“He loves bears, so it works,” Gibbons said about Davis.

The Friends organization offered limited-edition Suzie merchandise to benefit the park and commemorate the bear’s third decade. Friends president Larry Littlefield and volunteer Babe Paul, both of Gray, have volunteered with the organization for more than 20 years. Among other jobs, the volunteers man the snack shack, maintain the park gardens and raise money for animal care and educational programs.

“I think we’ve done pretty well,” Littlefield said about the fundraising numbers on Sunday. “And attendance has been really fantastic.”

In Suzie’s 29 years at the park, Donovan estimates she’s hosted more than 3 million visitors, who each leave with a little more knowledge about Maine’s black bear population.

“It means a lot, just the connection I have with Suzie and getting to educate the people about her,” Donovan said. “She’s just as much of an educator as I am and as all the keepers are here.”