Minnesota Zoo welcomes 3 orphaned brown bear cubs rescued in Alaska
Bristol, a 9-month-old female brown bear cub. (Minnesota Zoo / Supplied)
APPLE VALLEY, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Zoo recently welcomed three orphaned brown bear cubs who arrived in Minnesota after being rescued in Alaska earlier this summer.
3 brown bear cubs arrive at Minnesota Zoo
Big picture view:
The three 9-month-old brown bear cubs—Brooks and Dillingham, both males, and Bristol, a female—were discovered orphaned near King Salmon, Alaska in July, according to a news release. Alaska wildlife officials rescued the cubs and brought them to the Alaska Zoo, because they would be unable to survive on their own.
The Minnesota Zoo was selected as their permanent home because of the zoo's nearly two decades of experience caring for brown bears and their expansive natural habitat in the zoo's Russia's Grizzly Coast exhibit. The cubs arrived in Minnesota in October.
Brooks, a 9-month-old male brown bear cub. (Minnesota Zoo / Supplied)
The three cubs are named for the southern Alaska region where they were rescued. Bristol is the smallest trio, but the most outgoing. He is named for the Brooks River in Katmai National Park and Preserve, best known as the home of the bears who compete in the annual Fat Bear Week.
Dillingham, a 9-month-old male brown bear cub. (Minnesota Zoo / Supplied)
The zoo describes Bristol as the "sassy sister." She is named after Bristol Bay. Dillingham is the largest and most serious of the three, and reportedly keeps a "watchful eye on the others." He is named for the fishing community of Dillingham on Bristol Bay.
Local perspective:
The cubs will be part of the zoo's Russia's Grizzly Coast exhibit, alternating time in the habitat with Sadie, the zoo's 21-year-old resident brown bear. Sadie was part of another trio of orphaned brown bears from Alaska who came to the zoo in 2008 and became the first residents of Russia's Grizzly Coast. Kenai died in 2024 while Haines passed away earlier this year.
Dig deeper:
The new cubs are part of a subspecies of brown bear called the Alaska Peninsula brown bear, or Ursus arctos gyas, which is native to the coast of southern Alaska, according to a zoo spokesperson. Sadie's brown bear species is typically smaller.
What's next:
The new brown bear cubs are expected to make their public debut next spring.
The Source: Information in this story comes from a Minnesota Zoo news release and a Minnesota Zoo spokesperson.