This cam shows the two grizzly bear brothers at Woodland Park Zoo's award-winning Northern Trail exhibit. The exhibit was made possible, in part, through the generosity of Brown Bear Car Wash, the Odermat family, Alaska Airlines and The Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation.
Meet the bears
Woodland Park Zoo’s two grizzly bears are brothers named Keema and Denali and are 16 years old (2010). The brothers arrived here from Washington State University in 1994. WSU maintains a small population of grizzlies in order to conduct long-term studies on bear nutrition.
Enrichment
Keepers encourage the bears’ natural foraging behavior by “scatter-feeding” produce and favorite food items throughout the exhibit each morning and again later in the day; providing new stumps, logs, props and other natural items in the exhibit also introduces new sights and smells to stimulate the bears’ senses. Keepers place browse (branches and leaves) in the exhibit and grasses for the bears to consume. They will also lace the exhibit with novel scents such as elk dung and spices to stimulate their olfactory sense. During the warmer times of the year, the bears are provided overnight access to their exhibit, providing them full use of all available areas to better accommodate any need they have to move about their environment.
Exhibit features
Various artificial elements including rockwork, a stream and deep pool that maintains 20-30 live trout, many that have lived in the pool for several years. The bears actively “fish” for the trout, occasionally teaming up to corral and capture the trout.
Conservation
Brown (grizzly) bears are an endangered species in the lower 48 contiguous United States (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). We partner with the Grizzly Bear Outreach Project to protect bears and teach local communities how to live in harmony with these magnificent animals.
