Bear Cubs on Exhibit

Two six-month-old American Black Bear cubs just made their debut at the N.C. Zoo. These are the youngest cubs ever exhibited at the N.C. Zoo.

The bears are litter mates—sisters—who arrived in June. They were donated by an Arkansas' animal refuge.

The cubs will use a land-tenure system to share the Zoo's Black Bear exhibit with two resident adult Black Bears. The youngsters will hold claim to the space from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. The  adults will take over the exhibit from 3 p.m. until closing.

The cubs act like cubs should—testing their skills and stretching their muscles to climb, swim, wrestle and romp through the exhibit. If you approach the exhibit and do not see them, be sure to check out the trees. Both like to shinny up the bark.

Black Bears (Ursus americanus) confine their range to North America and maintain population numbers that dwarf the remaining populations of our continent's other two bear species -- the Brown Bear and the Polar Bear. Brown Bears have many common names--in the Rocky Mountains they are often called "Grizzlies," in parts of Alaska, they are known as "Kodiak Bears." They, like the Polar Bear, range into parts of Europe and Asia.

Black Bears still live in 41 of America's 50 states and in all the Canadian provinces except Prince Edward Island. In North Carolina, Black Bears are most common along the coast and in the mountains.

Black Bears weigh less and stand shorter than both Grizzlies and Polar bears. A typical Black Bear male weighs around 200-300 pounds, compared to a typical Grizzly (450 to 650 pounds) or Polar Bear (around 700-1,000 pounds.) The largest male Black Bears may weigh 600 pounds, while the largest Grizzly males can reach 800 pounds and the largest Polar Bears can top 2000 pounds.