Orphaned grizzly bear cubs make their public debut at the Calgary Zoo - BERITAJA

They are named Turner and Fitz — 2 antheral grizzly carnivore cubs that are conscionable complete a twelvemonth aged — and this week they made their nationalist debut astatine the Calgary Zoo.

The carnivore cubs were orphaned successful the chaotic past autumn adjacent Diamond Valley, about 70 kilometres southbound of Calgary, erstwhile their mother was killed successful what the zoo called “a human-wildlife encounter.”

Too young to past connected their own, the cubs were brought to the Calgary Zoo.

“We are really bully astatine caring for grizzlies. We’ve been looking aft grizzlies astatine the Wilder to Calgary Zoo since 1938, truthful about 90 years aliases so,” said Jax Hogard, animal attraction supervisor astatine the Wilder Institute Calgary Zoo.

“They needed a speedy location while we figured retired wherever they would spell adjacent and it conscionable truthful happened that we ended up having the abstraction for them, truthful the determination was made for them to enactment astatine the Wilder Institute Calgary Zoo and successful the attraction of america present successful chaotic Canada.”

While the bears are brothers, they do person their differences.

Turner has a darker overgarment and is the larger of the two, weighing about 116 kilograms (256 pounds), while Fitz is lighter successful colour pinch a metallic tinge and weighs about 110 kilograms (243 pounds).

Each of them eats about 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of nutrient per day.

“So correct connected par pinch wherever they should beryllium astatine conscionable complete a twelvemonth aged and doing phenomenally,” said Hogard.

“Their coats are beautiful — shiny, gorgeous. They’ve shed retired their wintertime overgarment and person their beautiful outpouring overgarment coming in. They’re precisely what you expect young grizzly bears to look like. They’ve sewage that beautiful grizzled highlights successful their hairsbreadth and they’re perfect.”

This is the first week the bears person been allowed to research their caller outdoor residence aft spending the wintertime “behind the scenes” astatine the zoo.

“We’ve conscionable been allowing them to do babe carnivore things each winter. We gave them the action to spell to slumber if they wanted to. But they did enactment up for the mostly of the winter,” said Hogard.

“Whatever they wanted to do, it was wholly their choice. We conscionable wanted them to really summation assurance successful their caller home. We besides wanted to make judge that their caller location was safe and prepared for what babe grizzlies need, which is digging, running, climbing, playing. So location were a batch of residence changes that were made and activity of the furnishings successful the habitat, rocks, logs. We wanted to make judge that everything was unafraid truthful erstwhile the boys were here, they were safe.”

Hogard said the zoo has 2 habitats that are some well-suited for bears.

The cubs are presently surviving successful the smaller habitat, but arsenic they grow, the zoo whitethorn determine to move them to the larger habitat.

“Just to springiness them mini steps to larger spaces, conscionable for enrichment and a alteration of scenery and size arsenic they grow,” Hogard said.