HOUSTON — The Houston Zoo has added a young black bear to its family and he will soon meet his new roomie.
Claud is a 2-year-old orphaned black bear that came to Houston from Reno, Nevada. He was seen feeding near campsites there and that raised concerns.
"His comfort level to humans posed a risk to park people," the Houston Zoo explained. "The Nevada Department of Wildlife rescued Claud and asked the Houston Zoo if it could offer him a home."
Claud arrived seven weeks ago and has finished his quarantine. That means he'll be introduced to Belle, the zoo's 9-year-old black bear, in the near future.
In the meantime, they said the bear appears to be happy in his new H-Town home.
Zoo guests can see Claud curiously exploring his new surroundings in the Hamill Foundation Black Bear exhibit, across from the lions. The area has access to pools, a waterfall and places to hide, dig and climb.
"Claud is very interested and engaged with all his new home offers, especially taking a splash in the pools in his habitat," the zoo said.
Photos: Zoo's newest bear
The zoo said its paperless ticketing system helps save bears and other animals in the wild that depend on trees to live.
"Guests can do their part to save wild bears by using recycled paper products. Bears need trees to live, and by using less paper or recycled-content paper products, fewer trees are cut down," the zoo said.
