Overview
- Born Dec. 7 at approximately 2:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., the cubs arrived in an off-exhibit den on the zoo’s Asia Trail to 6-year-old mother Molly.
- Keepers say Molly and her cubs appear healthy as staff monitor the family by camera and provide food and fresh nesting materials.
- The cubs’ sexes and names are not yet determined, and DNA testing will establish whether Niko, 11, or Deemak, 7, is the father, with the possibility that each cub has a different sire.
- The births resulted from an AZA Species Survival Plan breeding recommendation after Molly’s arrival from a Kansas zoo last April.
- Sloth bears are classified as vulnerable, and only 42 are housed across 15 AZA-accredited U.S. zoos, making these births important for genetic diversity and population management.