Grizzly Bear Escapes Calgary Zoo: What Happened?
One of the Calgary Zoo’s grizzly bears briefly found himself on the other side of his enclosure Sunday morning. The grizzly bear escapes Calgary Zoo incident happened before the zoo opened to the public.
A spokesperson for the Wilder Institute’s Calgary Zoo told CBC News that one-year-old grizzly bear Fitz “exited his habitat” at about 7:30 a.m.
“Established emergency response procedures were immediately activated,” communications manager Cindy Antonello said in a statement.
The zoo’s animal care and security teams responded to the incident, along with the Calgary Police Service.
“Fitz was successfully immobilized, and our [animal care] team safely relocated him to his back-of-house space,” Antonello said. “There were no injuries to guests, staff, volunteers or animals.”
WATCH | Grizzly bears Fitz and Turner make Calgary Zoo debut:
Grizzly cub brothers make zoo debut
Orphaned grizzly brothers Turner and Fitz will live in the Wild Canada exhibit. The cubs explored their new habitat at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo for the first time Thursday.
Antonello said the grizzly bear escapes Calgary Zoo incident happened before the zoo opened to the public. However, the Wild Canada area where the zoo’s bears are housed “remained temporarily closed while our teams completed a full assessment of the area” before reopening in the afternoon.
“Our teams will be reviewing the circumstances of the incident as part of our established post-incident procedures. We do not have any further information to share at this time,” she said.
WATCH | The Calgary Zoo’s difficult history with polar bears:
The Calgary Zoo’s difficult history with polar bears
Polar bears have been at the Calgary Zoo since the 1930s, but the zoo has experienced a series of mishaps, including deaths, involving the animals over the decades. CBC’s Josiah Sinanan explains that history and how the zoo has committed to following new standards with the introduction of its latest bears.
Calgary Police Service Staff Sgt. John Guigon said there was no danger to the public during the incident.
“The grizzly bear got out, took a little walk around the zoo, sat down and was tranquilized by members of the zoo,” he said.
Guigon said police officers responded to the scene but remained on standby while the zoo handled the situation.
“I’m sure they were concerned given it’s a grizzly bear and what they are capable of doing, but the bear didn’t seem interested in doing much more than just having an adventure,” he said.
The grizzly bear escapes Calgary Zoo incident ended without injuries to guests, staff, volunteers or animals.
Fitz and his brother Turner were brought to the zoo as cubs last fall after their mother was killed by a hunter in self-defence near Diamond Valley, southwest of Calgary.
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