Surprise announcement: Baby bears arrive at Sedgwick County Zoo

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The Sedgwick County Zoo surprised a lot of people Wednesday morning by announcing that it recently got two baby black bears. The bears could be ready for public viewing as soon as Monday.

The cubs are twins, a brother and sister, from Oregon. Their mother died in a shooting incident, leaving them orphans.

“Without their mother’s guidance, bear cubs face a multitude of dangers,” Chelsey Schartz, Sedgwick County Zoo marketing manager, said. “At around eight pounds each, they lack the skills to hunt, fend for themselves, and survive the harsh winters.”

Schartz says that is why Oregon Fish and Wildlife stepped in to rescue them and then called the Sedgwick County Zoo. The zoo was on a list to be notified if any black bears needed a home. It had a vacancy after its last black bear, Mitch, died of old age in December .

“When you walk by the habitat, and Mitch isn’t there, you kind of feel this little sinking in your heart, but now when you walk by, there’s going to be two baby cubs,” said Schartz.

The zoo asked the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office for help getting the cubs from Oregon to Wichita because the sheriff’s office got a new plane last year . The zoo said using the sheriff’s office plane shortened the trip to less than six hours, and zoo employees could keep giving the cubs milk every two hours during the flight.

It was initially a tight fit to get the cubs on board.

“Luckily, The Wildlife Safari there in Oregon were more than happy to help the Sedgwick County Zoo out with getting two smaller kennels to fit there a little bit more properly,” said the Communication Coordinator for the SCSO, Hannah Abou-Faissal.

On Wednesday, Scott Newland, Sedgwick County Zoo president and CEO, told the Sedgwick County Commission that the zoo has had the cubs for a few weeks. He believes the bears are only three to four months old.

The zoo plans to put the bears on exhibit for short periods and only under supervision until they are older.

“The bears are so tiny that we are kind of, they could get themselves in trouble on exhibit if left by themselves,” Newland said. “So until they’re big enough and know all the ins and outs of the exhibit, we will have staff out there with them during specific times each day so guests can come see them.”

He said to check the Sedgwick County Zoo website to see when the cubs will be out.

The cubs don’t have names yet. The zoo is working with Oregon Fish and Wildlife to come up with names that are significant to the area where they were born.

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