Just in Time? Orphaned Montana Grizzly Bear Cub Gets New Home
Not everyone is fond of zoos. But zoo before possible euthanizing or death by other means? Well,...
Besides, as you will read shortly, the new digs sound pretty swanky. And if you think you have a catchy name for the new gal on the block, they might like to hear from you.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks tells us that a female grizzly cub that was orphaned in Montana has found a new home. That mama bear and humans were not coexisting did not bode well for the little one's future.
The 95-pound cub now resides at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo. She is about halfway through a brief, mandatory quarantine period, standard practice at the zoo.
Last month, Montana FWP, responded to numerous calls about bear-human conflicts. The habitual offender was an adult female grizzly bear in the Gardiner Basin area. Complaints included breaking into a fenced compound, breaking into a home that showed no signs of unsecured attractants, and killing chickens secured by electric fencing. To make matters worse, she showed no fear of hazing with rubber bullets, paintballs and noise-making devices.
Finally, FWP made the decision to capture and euthanize the adult female, our Woodland Park cub's mother. Recognizing that the behavior she learned from her mother and still being too young to likely survive on her own, authorities determined that a zoo was a better option than likely demise.
Born this past winter, the Montana grizzly cub has not been named yet. Hopefully, she makes friends with Juniper, an Alaskan brown bear cub that arrived at the zoo a couple of months ago and is about the same age.
Once she is acclimated to her new surroundings, she will reside in the spectacular Woodland Park Zoo Living Northwest Trail. The area boasts "a wealth of enrichment including a braided, flowing stream; a bear-sized swimming pool with live fish; exhibit “furniture” such as rocks for basking in the sun; tree stumps that make great scratching posts; and a quiet cave for winter naps." Yeah, in other words, sounds nicer than any hotel I've ever stayed in!
We wish her well and may she live a long, comfortable life delighting millions of visitors.