(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Brookfield Zoo welcomed 11-month-old brown bear cubs Tim and Jess from Alaska back in November, but on Monday, the cubs made their first public appearance in the zoo's Great Bear Wilderness habitat.
The brother and sister were orphaned after their mother was euthanized for wreaking havoc on an Anchorage neighborhood.
"The cubs went to Alaska Zoo, and they gave me a call and they said, 'Would you be willing to take these two cubs in?' And I said, 'Of course,'" said Mark Wanner, Brookfield Zoo's director of carnivore small mammal care and conservation.
Since their arrival, the bears have received physical exams and spent time developing a relationship with the animal care staff.
"Our habitats, prior to this, were equipped to hold adult bears," Wanner said. "They weren't necessarily equipped to hold cubs, so we have had to go back and make some modifications to the habitats, but we should be good to go now."
Tim and Jess are still getting used to large crowds, but Wanner told WBBM they've got plenty of personality.
"They are very rambunctious," said Wanner. "The male does charge a couple times, like a little bit of trying to be a big bear and a little body. I think the most incredible thing about them is they are very attached, and they don't like to go anywhere without the other."
The cubs weigh around 200 pounds and are expected to grow upward of 800 – 1,000 pounds.
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