Wildlife

'Pseudo-sibling' bear cubs will be moved from Alaska to new Texas home

A zookeeper on Wednesday walked through the bear cub exhibit at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, scattering food and pouring honey onto tree stumps. She laughed with zoo director Patrick Lampi, standing in his work jacket outside the exhibit, as they discussed how to lure two orphaned, underweight and skittish black bear cubs out of their den.

After the keeper left the cage, the cubs took the bait.

The duo -- recently delivered to the zoo after being rescued days apart in different Alaska communities -- are the latest bear orphans the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has sent to facilities across the country. Fish and Game has found homes for nine bear cubs in 2014.

Though the cubs come from different regions and different mothers, they are becoming what the zoo describes as "pseudo-siblings" and will soon move to the International Exotic Animal Sanctuary in Boyd, Texas.

The first of the cubs to arrive at the Alaska Zoo was a cinnamon-colored male found hiding under a smokehouse in Eagle, Lampi said.

Cathie Harms, a Fish and Game spokesperson in Fairbanks, said an Eagle resident monitored the bear for a "couple of days" before capturing it and bringing it to Fish and Game. Harms added that at the time of the capture, there was snow on the ground and no adult bear tracks were found nearby.

The male cub also had a bite wound from an unknown animal on a hind leg. Lampi said the cub had to be sedated so the wound could be cleaned and drained after his Nov. 22 arrival at the zoo.

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"When we got him his wound was pretty severe and made him act rather lethargic," Harms said.

The other cub, a female, arrived at the zoo four days later, on Nov. 26. She was discovered in the Kenai Peninsula town of Kasilof by a homeowner, who noticed her inside a chicken coop. Lampi said Fish and Game removed her and released her in the woods nearby, but she never reconnected with her mother.

Lampi described the female as the more adventurous of the cubs.

"She is the first one to explore (and) the first to come around. But you have to understand the cinnamon-colored one had a pretty rough beginning to life, being bit by something. It has reason to be timid," Lampi said.

Fish and Game doesn't know what happened to the cubs' mothers, according to Lampi. Both the bears are underweight; the male weighs 29 pounds and the female between 15 and 20 pounds.

"By this time of year cubs should weigh about 60 pounds," Lampi said.

Lampi watched the cubs as he spoke. The female cub crawled and climbed through a donated jungle gym. She took breaks to search for the honey on tree stumps. The male scampered about, following a trail of dog food.

"A lot of animals are like children," Lampi said. "They like to climb on things, they can't have sharp edges they could hurt themselves on, and we have to make sure the toys are tough enough for whatever animals are using them. And just like children, they get bored quickly."

Lampi added the cubs' shared den is also furnished with what used to be an old children's sandbox filled with hay. The two are becoming more comfortable with each other but still sleep on opposite sides of their manmade den.

"They need a lot of attention, so it's fortunate there are two in here for companionship. I would think it would make them feel more comfortable," Lampi said. "It took them a little while to get used to each other, but ... they stay pretty close now."

The cubs will remain at the Alaska Zoo until sometime after Jan. 1. Lampi hopes by the time they leave, they will be comfortable each other as they'll be sharing a crate all the way from the Last Frontier to Texas.

Megan Edge

Megan Edge is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News.

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