News and Stories

Adventure Trail and Bear Ridge Open Today

Starting today, visitors will be able to see American black bear cubs Hazel and Juniper, whose names were just announced this morning, in Bear Ridge!
Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden! American black bears can come in many color variations. Although black is the most common, they can also be brown, cinnamon, blond or white. You can easily tell our new cubs apart with Hazel being brown and Juniper being black.

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The 8-month-old orphaned cubs arrived last month and have been getting acclimated to their indoor space, new routines, and their care team since then. They also received health checks and a clean bill of health before venturing outside.

“We started introducing them to their outdoor habitat earlier this week and were so excited to see them splashing in the waterfall, climbing the rocks, and swinging in their hammock,” said Cincinnati Zoo’s curator of mammals Kim Scott. “Bear Ridge was designed to offer opportunities for its residents to be curious, playful, and restful when they’re tired! Juniper and Hazel did all those things the first time they explored the space.”

In addition to providing a great home for the cubs, Bear Ridge offers multiple viewing areas so visitors can see and become inspired by the uniqueness of a species that can be found right here in North America. Signage, activities, and in-person interpretation in the habitat focuses on stewardship and interconnectedness between humans and nature and celebrates North American species and landscapes. Cincinnati Zoo is playing an active role in recovery efforts for other North American species including manatees, Mexican wolves, American Burying Beetles, ocelots, and box turtles.

About Bear Ridge:

A short “Adventure Trail” at the top of Bear Ridge gives visitors the opportunity to explore rockwork, find surprise animal statues in nooks, and cross over a rope bridge that simulates a hiking experience in a national forest or park.

An Indigenous peoples and places acknowledgment sign, created with input from Miami University’s Myammia Center, greets visitors as they arrive, helping set the stage for a space that incorporates many voices and perspectives.

Along the main path, evergreens create a visual barrier to the bear habitat and lead to a cave where visitors and bears can view each other.  The path to the lower bear viewing area passes through the trunk of a large redwood tree. A hidden speaker inside the trunk plays the sound of a woodpecker hammering at the tree as visitors pass through the inner chamber.

Sea Otter Coast, home to another North American species, is set to open later this year. Bears and otters have a higher threshold for cold than some of the Zoo’s other animals, so visitors may see them out during the winter months.

The Zoo opens daily at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. Tickets are still available for its newest fall event, Jack O’Lantern Glow, presented by Medpace, which runs evenings through October 30. Tomorrow and Sunday are the last days for HallZOOween, presented by General Electric Credit Union, which is open from noon – 5 p.m. and free with Zoo admission.