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Important to Know: To keep all the bears healthy
and engaged, they are rotated in the two major exhibit
spaces at Glacier Run on an unpredictable schedule. Similar
rotation strategies are used successfully in the
award-winning Islands and Gorilla Forest. Click
here
to learn more about how and why we use rotation.
 Meet
Our Grizzly Bears
In August of 2010 The Louisville Zoo once again assisted
in animal rescue efforts when it brought a mother grizzly
bear and her two cubs (one male and one female) to
Louisville from Polson, Montana.
The animals had been identified and trapped as “nuisance
bears” by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes -
Division of Fish, Wildlife, Recreation and Conservation and
faced an uncertain future unless a home for them could be
found in a zoo or other wildlife facility. As it happened
the Louisville Zoo had been looking for a species of brown
bear to inhabit Glacier Run in addition to polar bears.
Louisville Zoo Director John Walczak also saw this as a
great opportunity for us to assist the dedicated personnel
and agencies responsible for managing grizzlies in the wild
who often have the difficult challenge of balancing
conservation and interactions between bears and the public,
agriculture and industry.
The grizzlies have adapted well to their new environment
and built trust with their keepers.
Inga, Otis and Rita share Glacier Run with the three
polar bears – although they are never in the same space at
the same time! To keep all the bears healthy and engaged,
their schedules are intentionally unpredictable. This
prevents them from anticipating events and potentially
developing stereotypic behaviors.
 Inga
Six year-old Inga was born in the wild in February of
2005. She is the mother of one year-old twin cubs Otis and
Rita. This grizzly family joined us from the remnant wild in
Polson, Montana, where they were raiding chicken coups and
had been trapped 3 times. Montana has a three strike law and
this grizzly family had met their quota and would have been
euthanized. Instead Inga and her twins celebrate their one
year anniversary of calling Glacier Run home in August 2011.
Those green things aren’t Inga’s earrings, they are ear
tags that she acquired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service after being caught raiding those chicken coups. As
of late September, Inga weighed in at 351 lbs and seems to
enjoy frolicking in the 108,000 gallon pool in Glacier Run
and keeping her twins in line, especially the rambunctious
male cub Otis.
 Otis
Otis is the one year-old male cub of Inga, born in
February 2010 in the remnant wild of Montana, he was raiding
chicken coups with his mother and sibling.
As of late September, Otis outweighs his mother now
weighing in at 396 lbs. Like Inga, he too seems to love
frolicking in the 108,000 gallon pool in Glacier Run and
digging away in the mulch pit.
He is the more bold and curious of the cubs.
 Rita
Rita is the one year-old female cub of Inga. Born in
February 2010 in the remnant wild of Montana.
As
of late September, Rita weighed in at 275 lbs. She is the
most cautious of the twins and seems to love swimming and
wrestling with her brother. (Photo
by Kyle Shepherd)
Photos by Robert Kemnitz unless
credited elsewhere.
Click here for great video of
our grizzly bear family (and our polar bears too)!
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