VIDEO: Bear climbs high into the treetops at Oregon Zoo
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An American black bear entertained Oregon Zoo visitors by climbing more than 50 feet up a tree inside the zoo’s bear exhibit on Monday afternoon.
The feat was captured on video by zoo visitor Olga Kreshchuk at approximately 1:45 p.m. Oregon Zoo spokesperson Hova Najarian told KOIN 6 News that climbing trees is normal bear behavior and a popular sight for zoo guests.
The bear seen in the video is likely one of the zoo’s two juvenile bears, “Timber” and “Thorn,” who arrived at the Oregon Zoo in December 2023, after wildlife officials found them wandering without mothers in the Alaskan wilderness.
Jen Osburn Eliot, who oversees the zoo’s Great Northwest area, said in March that the young bears regularly scale the tall Douglas fir trees in their habitat to feast on the tasty new growth near the treetops.
“It’s pretty amazing to see them climb so high,” Eliot said. “Visitors have told us they could see the bears before they even entered the zoo.”
Black bears are known for their climbing abilities and Timber and Thorn are both confident climbers.
“Both cubs like to climb, but Thorn is the bolder of the two,” Eliot said. “If you see one bear up higher than the other, that’s probably him.”