Hard to believe, but it’s been a year exactly since our two grizzly cubs arrived as rescued orphans. Now well over a year old, Huckleberry and Hawthorne are much bigger, much stronger but just as lovable. The bear equivalent to teenagers, they are looking a lot more like adults, but still love to play like cubs. Our keepers are celebrating with a special enrichment at 1pm Saturday Aug. 3: yummy watermelon cake for both bears. We decided to honor the moment with a side-by-side comparison of our cubs, then and now. WEIGHT Then: Hawthorne weighed 90 lb, Huckleberry 80 lb. …

Double the cubs, double the fun. So far, our grizzly bear cubs have been exploring their Northwest Trek habitat one at a time. Huckleberry enjoys hanging out by the pool, in the forest, and wherever he finds food. Hawthorne likes standing on the log over the pool. But this weekend, they’ll be sharing their home – with visitors sharing the fun. From Friday Oct. 12 you can see them both outside from 9:30-11:30am, and 1-3pm. Here’s a sneak peek at how our cubs play together!

When you’re nine months old – and a grizzly bear – the world is a pretty exciting place. It was 10am on his first day out in public, and Hawthorne the grizzly cub was having a wonderful adventure – every ten seconds. First he sniffed around his habitat a little, checking out what was new this morning. He nosed logs, flipped over a small branch, then picked it up and shook it. Then he galloped a complete lap of the space, backside jiggling, and ran right up his favorite perch – a log cantilevered over the small pool. “He can …

Hawthorne prefers fruit and meat. Huckleberry loves lettuce and butternut squash. But when you’re caring for two growing 125-pound grizzly cubs, the biggest challenge is just keeping them fed. Play, eat, repeat “They play hard and eat a lot,” says Angela Gibson, carnivore keeper, who’s been looking after the cubs nearly full-time since they arrived in August, along with fellow keeper Haley Withers. The cubs eat first thing in the morning, last thing at night and a midday snack – but they also forage during their outside public times on lettuce and fruit that Gibson hides around their habitat in …

Who could resist a buff-colored grizzly bear cub named Huckleberry? Or a chocolate-colored “brother” bear named Hawthorne? They’re the names chosen for our energetic, engaging cubs, who are ready to make their public debut on Thursday, Sept. 20. The two will be out in their forested habitat – one at a time – beginning at 9:30 a.m. Look for Hawthorne from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and Huckleberry from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. daily in their newly renovated – and cub-proofed – exhibit space. A bit of patience might be needed, though: The active, playful cubs run hard and …

NOTE: Survey now closed. Thanks for voting!   Will it be Hawthorne, Kenai or Sitka for the chocolate-colored grizzly bear cub from Alaska? Bandera, Glacier or Huckleberry for the buff-colored cub with darker-colored legs from Montana?   We want your help to name our two grizzly bear cubs that arrived last month after they were orphaned in the wild.   Can’t wait to see them? We haven’t set a date yet, but stay tuned: The cubs will soon make their public debuts in our forested grizzly bear habitat. And that’s when we’ll reveal the winning names.   Northwest Trek keepers suggested …

He’s just a little guy – for a grizzly bear. He weighs only about 75 pounds and stands just about 2 feet tall. But by the time he’s an adult, this little orphan from Alaska could reach up to 11 feet tall, standing on his hind legs – and weigh into the hundreds of pounds. And on Aug. 1, the six-month-old grizzly bear cub who was orphaned near Nome and fostered by caring keepers at Alaska Zoo over the last few months, will have a home at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. He’ll soon be joined by a yearling cub from …