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Tiny orphaned black bear making new home at Alaska Zoo

Black Bear
Posted at 10:42 AM, May 17, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-17 13:25:49-04

The Alaska Zoo's newest resident is a tiny, orphaned black bear cub.

Baby Taglu weighed less than five pounds when he was found alone in the northern Alaska wilderness. On May 8, he was flown from the village of Kotzebue to the zoo in Anchorage.

Since his arrival in Anchorage, Taglu has been eating up a storm. The cub has his meals served to him five times a day by zoo staff.

"It really takes the whole crew for these babies because they get fed so much," Alaska Zoo curator Shannon Jensen said.

The zoo says that Taglu has been gaining weight since his arrival and is getting comfortable with his surroundings. He's even been attracting visitors to the zoo, as crowds have gathered to watch him cuddle with his favorite teddy bear.

Unfortunately for Anchorage, Taglu will be eventually leaving the zoo. Instead, he'll make his permanent home at a zoo in Wisconsin, where he'll be paired with another bear his size — a 1-year-old female black bear.

According to the National Park Service, black bears can grow to be as large as 600 pounds.