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One of the Calgary Zoo’s grizzly bears spent some time on the other side of his enclosure.
A spokesperson for the Wilder Institute’s Calgary Zoo told CBC News one-year-old grizzly bear Fitz “exited his habitat” at about 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning.
“Established emergency response procedures were immediately activated,” communications manager Cindy Antonello said in a statement.
The zoo’s animal care and security teams responded, 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.”
Orphans Turner and Fitz will live in the Wild Canada exhibit. They explored their new habitat at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo for the first time Thursday.
Antonello said the incident happened before the zoo opened to the public, but 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.
Polar bears have been at the zoo in Calgary since the 1930s, but there has been a series of mishaps — even deaths — over the decades. CBC’s Josiah Sinanan explains that history, and how the zoo has committed to adhering to new standards with the introduction of its latest bears.
Calgary Police Service Staff Sgt. John Guigon says 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 the zoo,” he said.
Guigon says police officers responded to the scene but remained on standby while the zoo handled the incident.
“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.
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.
