Three orphaned brown bear cubs from Alaska find a new home at the Minnesota Zoo
Three brown bear cubs found without their mother near King Salmon, Alaska, have moved to the Minnesota Zoo after rescue by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Brooks, Dillingham and Bristol will make their public debut next spring.
Three orphaned brown bear cubs rescued in Alaska have a new home at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, MPR News reported on 26 October. The siblings, brothers Brooks and Dillingham and their sister Bristol, are about nine months old.
Alone for nearly a week
The cubs were found in July near King Salmon, Alaska, without their mother, who was never located. They had been on their own for nearly a week and could not have survived alone. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game rescued them, and they went to the Alaska Zoo in August before moving to Minnesota earlier in October.
One cub had minor injuries consistent with a bear attack, which suggests the family may have run into an adult male bear, according to the report.
“It's incredibly special to begin that journey again.” — Diana Weinhardt, curator of the Minnesota Zoo's Northern Trail
Settling in behind the scenes
The cubs will stay behind the scenes for now to get used to their new home and are expected to make their public debut next spring. They will then share the bear habitat in turns with Sadie, a 21-year-old bear already at the zoo.
Orphaned bear cubs that cannot be returned to the wild often go to zoos, which give them a permanent home. In St. Paul, the Como Park Zoo also welcomed two nyala calves, a spiral-horned antelope, this month.
More stories of animals given a second chance are collected under wildlife rescue.
Sources
- MPR News · mprnews.org
How we choose and verify sources: editorial policy.
