A pair of orphaned black bear cubs from Montana have arrived at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and are settling into the indoor areas of the new Bear Ridge habitat.
The seven-month-old female bears made the cross-country trek after Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks deemed them unreleasable.
“The Montana FWP works hard to promote coexistence with bears to minimize conflict and keep both humans and bears safe,” said Kim Scott, the Cincinnati Zoo’s curator of mammals. “The goal is to avoid situations that result in orphaned bears, but that does happen in healthy wild bear populations and the orphans need homes.”
Scott said the Montana FWP reached out to the Cincinnati Zoo last week, knowing that it’d just completed construction on Bear Ridge, to ask if the facility could provide a home for the cubs. The updated habitat – previously known as Bear Hill – features new landscapes and helps share the story of North American bears through signage, activities and close-up encounters.
Zookeepers traveled out west to bring the baby bears to the Cincinnati. Since arriving at their new home early on Sept. 17, the care team has been helping cubs adjust to their new surroundings and performing full health checks.
Scott said the zoo team already “is crazy about these bears” and hopes they will inspire guests to appreciate North American wildlife.
The Cincinnati Zoo also supports recovery efforts for other North American species, including manatees, Mexican wolves, American burying beetles, ocelots and box turtles.
The cubs, who don’t yet have names, will move outdoors in the coming weeks. The zoo will announce when visitors can see them.
“We’re going to provide a great home for them,” Scott said.
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