It’s been almost a year since Willie and George, the two orphaned cubs from northwest Montana, came to ZooMontana. They have changed—grown up—but they are still brothers said ZooMontana Executive Director Jeff Ewelt.
“They are very similar to human brothers with this. They are wrestling just about every moment they are out here,” Ewelt shared.
They are no longer the roly poly cubs.
They are quite big and very curious of me as I stand outside their enclosure one September morning with Ewelt and Krystal Whetham who works with Willie, George and as well as the older bear Ozzy.
Being that close to the two I could distinguish between George and Willie, thanks to Whetham’s help.
“They are starting to get a lot more distinguishing characteristics about them,” Whetham commented. “I notice that George has a shorter bigger snout on him and Willy’s is a lot longer and thinner. And George has a nice round head on him.”
She says they also have different personalities.
“George is way more cautious. He’s always kind of in the back. Willie’s the first one to ya. When it comes to people. They are still a little bit hesitant when it comes to strangers being back in their holding area. George is much more curious. He’s going to be the one looking for things. George just wants to see what the people are doing—his people, “ Whetham said.
And what about the elder grizzly-Ozzy. What is he like?
“A man in a bear’s suit. No.Ozzy is quite the character. You’ll get to see him playing in the pond We always laugh because we come in and he is in Ozzy yoga moves, sitting in his tire waiting to go out in the morning,” laughed Whetham.
Despite being enclosure “roommates” for nearly a year, the young grizzlies have not yet been introduced to Ozzy . They are aware of each other explained Ewelt.
“The cubs area really interested in Ozzy. They are really excited to see him and meet him and know that he is there. Ozzy is essentially the same way. He has shown a lot of excitement. He is very interested in them,” said Ewelt.
Part of the reason for no formal meetings is size. Ozzy is about 650 lbs while the younger pair are about 300 lbs each. Ewelt says they would like to fatten them up to 380 to 400 lbs so they could defend themselves against the bigger Ozzy, if something would go wrong with the meet and greet.
This is the perfect time to bulk up the young bears. It’s hyperphagia, the time of year when bears in the wild stock up on food in preparation for hibernation. Ewelt said the zoo’s bears do not hibernate but they instinctively bulk up.
“So we feed them night and day. During the mornings and during the evenings. And it’s amazing how much they eat. I mean we’re talking pounds upon pounds a day that these bears will take in. Especially these cubs as they are growing. Just like a growing teenager in your house, they are eating you out of house and home,” Ewelt explained.
What are they eating? Mostly fruit and vegetables. Willie, George and even Ozzy who was raiding campsites in Yellowstone National Park when he was in the wild, never got a taste of meat.
“They do get some meat,” Ewelt said. ”Its these big, almost like knuckle bones of cattle they’ll chew on. They really enjoy quail here at the zoo. Occasionally they might get some other meat like rabbit or things like that. But for the most part a lot of fruits and a lot of vegetables.”
Bears are kind of aggressive about food at this time of year. Ozzy is showing some aggression-- protecting his food. Another reason why introductions won’t happen until late winter or early spring.
Krystal Whetham says the meeting will be one bear at a time.
“That way if one of them is feeling some sort of way…For instance we have done some protected contact introductions and George is a lot more aggressive towards Ozzy so we don’t want Ozzy to think that they both will feel that way,” Whetham said.
If you want to see Willie, George and Ozzy at ZooMontana, the grizzly brothers are in the outdoor enclosure in the morning and Ozzy in the afternoon. And there is the zoocams on ZooMontana’s website, zoomontana.org.
ZooMontana is open every day of the year except Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s and Easter Day.
