Page 75 - Flathead Beacon // 11.27.13

74 | NOVEMBER 27, 2013
FLATHEADBEACON.COM

OUTDOORS

Montana’s

Orphan Bears

Find Sanctuary

in an Unlikely

Place

by Dillon Tabish

sHUTTERSTOCK PHOTO

The recent killing of a female 30 years.
Founded 114 years ago, the Bronx Zoo is the largest
The other alternatives paint a bleak picture, ac-
metropolitan zoo on the planet. Its 365 acres is home to
grizzly bear in Montana left three cording to Servheen.
more than 6,000 animals representing more than 600
A cub or yearling left alone in the wild will almost
species, including some of the most rare and iconic. Ev-
cubs orphaned and unlikely to certainly starve or be eaten by another animal, he said. ery year, roughly 2.15 million people visit the zoo and
But bears that are captured and kept in captivity,
survive, until a lifeline emerged
its popular exhibits, including a giant indoor rainfor-
even briely, become food conditioned and unafraid est, the Himalayan highlands, the Congo gorilla forest
from the heart of New York City of humans. At that point, even after they are released and the “world of reptiles.”
back into the wild, the animal will perpetually gravi-
The zoo is the lagship institution of the Wildlife
Etate toward people, according to Servheen.
Conservation Society, one of the largest conservation
arlier this month, Montana game wardens
“It would be dangerous,” he said.
organizations in the world that spearheads projects,
found a dead female grizzly bear that was ille-
It was at this dire crossroads that a rare lifeline
research and education programs centered on saving
gally shot northeast of Ovando on the southern emerged for the two recent cubs.
wildlife and wild places.

doorstep of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.
On the other side of the country, in the metropoli-
Servheen visited the Bronx Zoo almost 15 years
The discovery was devastating, not only because tan jungle of New York City, the Bronx Zoo opened its ago. He remembers it being big and elaborate, far from
it marked the death of an endangered species, but also doors and ofered to take in Montana’s orphaned griz- the typical notion of a caged shelter.
since the sow had three cubs.
zlies.
In the Bronx, the grizzlies exist in a speciic area
Wildlife oicials were able to catch two of the or- The two cubs that are moving to the Big Apple are that feels like a naturalized habitat, with swimming fa-
phaned bears, but the third escaped into the backcoun- not the irst to relocate from Montana, but Servheen cilities and shelter. As a way to mentally stimulate the
try where its chance of surviving through winter is said they are the irst in quite some time.
bears, zoo workers will regularly present challenges
grim.
“We don’t have a lot of opportunities to do this,” he for the animals to overcome, like burying food inside a

“When they are orphaned as cubs, their probability said.
pumpkin or freezing blocks of ice with a chunk of steak
of survival is miniscule,” said Chris Servheen, a grizzly Servheen expressed remorse over the bears being inside.
expert based in Missoula with U.S. Fish and Wildlife taken out of their natural habitat, but he described the But aside from being a good sanctuary, the zoo
Services.
adoption by the Bronx Zoo as the best possible solution plays a key role as an educational tool, Servheen said.
While an investigation began into the killing, to a bad situation.
“Zoos are the primary place where most Americans
including an added incentive of a $4,000 reward, “We don’t like to have to do that, but we also don’t get their information about wildlife,” he said.
Servheen and others quickly rallied together and like these bears to be orphaned like that,” he said. “Giv- At the Bronx Zoo, each of the animal’s habitats is

sought sanctuary for the surviving cubs.
en the situations that happen, we just respond accord- accompanied by informational presentations and dis-
Finding an adequate long-term refuge for grizzlies ingly so we can do what’s best for these animals.”
plays about the animals’ natural environment, chal-
can prove diicult. Montana has a wildlife rehabilita- The Bronx Zoo may seem like an unlikely destina- lenges for survival and unique characteristics.
tion center near Helena that serves as a hospital and tion, and an unfortunate one considering its placement “It’s educational for all those people that maybe don’t
refuge for orphaned and injured animals, but it can in the heart of America’s biggest city, a stark contrast to get to see a grizzly bear or know anything about griz-
only provide temporary assistance.
the grizzlies’ natural home in the Montana wilderness.
zlies,” he said. “They can walk away with information
Zoos are typically the best option, but few across But when it comes to sheltering the world’s endan- about bear conservation and what they can do to help.”
the country have suicient space to house another gered wildlife, the Bronx Zoo stands alone as a revered, [email protected]

large animal like a grizzly that can live for upwards of
world-class institution.