ELY—A multi-year procurement process with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the Alaska Zoo has finally paid off for the North American Bear Center, or NABC, in Ely. Two siblings, both male cubs, were recently orphaned in Alaska and NABC was finally on top of the list of organizations seeking to provide a permanent home.
After a two-month stay at the Alaska Zoo for health checks, neutering, and crate training; the cubs were flown to Minneapolis, where they were subsequently transported to Ely.
“Koda” and “Jasper” are currently in a specific den where they will likely remain until spring 2027, since the staff is encouraging natural hibernation behaviors. While bears are generally solitary, siblings often den together for security and stimulation. The NABC monitors them via “Cub Cam” (available at bear.org) with infrared capabilities.
“They have recorded wild bears that are orphaned naturally that do figure out how to do hibernation by themselves,” said Spencer Peter, manager and biologist at the NABC. “And so our job is to help encourage those behaviors so that they go ahead and do that together in this den. It does tend to be a little easier when they can grow up with a sibling like this because it helps for security, stimulation, and all kinds of fun play. So they have each other to kind of rely on and help, which is nice that we got the two.”
The center currently houses five bears. While bears are solitary as they mature, juveniles may form “small gangs.” The care staff, led by the head bear keeper, manages these relationships through specialized husbandry. Dr. Kristen McCarty of the Ely Veterinary Clinic provides medical care, with major surgeries referred to the Minnesota Zoo’s specialized facilities.
“Watch Cub-Cam on our website and come up to the North American Bear Center to see our bears because I think that you’re going have a ball of a time just seeing them and watching them,” said Peter. “You’ll get an up-close experience unlike anything you’ve ever had. As we all know, you don’t get close to cubs in the wild for good reason, right? Here it’s a very safe environment to do so, and you’ll have that world-class experience that I doubt you’re going get anywhere else.”
The center is open until the end of October - currently from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. but check the center’s website or social media for any changes in their hours. You can also watch the cubs at their website at bear.org.