News and Stories

North American black bears Hazel and Juniper arrived at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden in September 2025 when they were just seven months old. Since then, they’ve been exploring Bear Ridge, playing, eating, and behaving like typical bears!

Personalities

Hazel and Juniper each exhibit behaviors that typically cause conflict with humans when they occupy the same space.  One cub is a smart, cautious, and distrusting bear who isn’t afraid to protect herself, and the other is her silly, overly friendly sister who would approach anyone for a snack.

Hazel

Since the first day, Hazel has been the cautious one of the two. She has more boundaries and takes time to warm up. Hazel will be vocal in her frustrations or annoyances, and she likes to express her feelings. She is a quick learner and often turns the training session around on us instead. She is incredibly playful, often tormenting and instigating with her sister Juniper, even when it is not reciprocated. And Hazel is both an excellent digger and climber. She can dig a miniature den in just a few hours and loves to chase her sister up trees!

Juniper

She is the epitome of the “can I pet that dog?” video. From the moment Juniper met us, she would greet us for a peanut. She is friendly, outgoing, and very trusting. Juniper is calm and quiet. While her sister treads cautiously, Juniper loves openly. She favors rest and relaxation but plays whenever Hazel insists she should.

Black Bear Color Phases

Both bears are North American black bears, although Hazel has brown coloration. Black bears come in more colors than any other North American mammal. They can be black, brown, cinnamon, blond, blue-gray, or white. Learn More

• East of the Great Plains, nearly all are black. The melanin in black fur makes the fur resistant to abrasion in the brushy understory of eastern forests.
• In forested states that border the Great Plains, 5% to 25% are shades of brown rather than black.
• In western states over half the black bears are brown, cinnamon, or blond. Light colored fur reduces heat stress in open sunlight and allows the bears to feed longer in open, food-rich habitats.

Torpor

When we think about strategies animals use to survive the winter, we often picture birds flying south and bears hibernating in caves. However, not many animals truly hibernate, and black bears are among those that do not. Black bears enter a lighter state of sleep called torpor.

We do not expect the bear cubs to experience a true torpor at this age. We expect to see them slow down but not officially go into a torpor.

External and internal cues will guide them to torpor behaviors. These include sunlight, temperatures, and hormones. Our goal is to encourage them to experience their natural and seasonal behaviors as much as we can, while their bodies adjust to the seasonal changes, and life without mom. Our focus is to allow yearlings to progress naturally through all developmental stages, including torpor.

We will observe and adapt to each individual bear’s denning behavior. This means that access to their habitat and holding dens may differ each day based on their needs and what they communicate. Currently, the cubs are expressing and showing different behaviors almost daily. As Cincinnati weather changes literally day to day, warm spells may cause brief daily activity, though bears remain generally lethargic throughout. As keepers, we want to monitor this closely and make sure they have their needs met and are not experiencing too many seasonal frustrations.

We may see that the cubs as yearlings can be startled, nervous, or restless when entering or exiting torpor. As the season progresses, they may become lethargic and nocturnal. To reduce frustrations or restlessness, we will reduce human activity near our bears as they begin showing signs of torpor. Management for them involves providing warm, secure dens to mimic maternal thermoregulation and support comfort.

Seasonality:

Stage 1: Torpor (Winter). Adaptation for a lack food and adverse weather conditions.

Stage 2: Walking Hibernation (Spring). Den emergence, body condition, activity increases, food is scarce, change in temperature.

Stage 3: Normal Activity (Summer). Increased activity, reproduction, foraging and making day beds.

Stage 4: Hyperphagia (Late Summer/Fall). Multiple foraging strategies to take advantage of seasonal and opportunistic foods.

Stage 5: Fall transition. Metabolic processes begin changing.

It is important to recognize that in the wild, yearlings would still be nursing and relying on their mother for warmth and care. We are doing our best to provide comparable support.

In addition to bedding, we change their diet items and volumes. We monitor their appetites closely and make daily changes if needed to compensate for activity-induced weight loss. We also monitor and maintain a good Body Condition Score (BCS) to ensure our bears can safely undergo whatever torpor behavior they demonstrate, such as denning, resting, digging, etc.

Hibernation Adaptations and Benefits:

Bears have adapted their physiology to survive periods without food or water. This can include up to 6 months of inactivity.

In hibernation, they can:

• Preserve organ function
• Preserve insulin sensitivity
• Conserve muscle strength
• Avoid thromboembolism
• Avoid heart failure
• Avoid bed sores
• Heal physical wounds or injuries
• Heal neurological issues
• Slows down their aging process

As bears age, their chromosomes will erode at the tips, thus speeding up the aging process if torpor is prevented. Torpor prevents aging too quickly. To ensure the best welfare for our bears, it is important we allow them to experience all seasonal shifts and phases.

Bear Aware

Seeing a black bear is an exciting and memorable experience. When visiting,
recreating, or living in or near black bear country, it is always important to be aware that you may encounter a bear at any time. Most conflicts between people and bears are the result of people approaching and/or feeding them or allowing them to obtain garbage and pet/livestock feeds. Learning the appropriate safety techniques will minimize the possibility of a conflict.
You are responsible for your safety and the safety of bears. Please help keep bears wild by not approaching or feeding them.

Take a look at this information and these educational resources so you can safely and responsibly enjoy bears in the wild. 

• Store attractants indoors or in bear-resistant garbage cans
• When you leave, store garbage and attractants in a secure location or take it with you
• Never feed bears. A fed bear is more likely to be a danger to people
• Be aware of your surroundings
• Make noise (such as singing or talking loudly)
• Travel in groups
• Carry bear spray and know how to use it

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