Public Picks Names for Black Bears at Northwest Trek

Two new black bears at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park now have names chosen by the public in an online survey.

Benton and Fern were picked from among four sets of names for the male and female bears, which came to the wildlife park from the Topeka Zoo in May.

It’s the first time in many years that animals at Northwest Trek have names by which the public will know them. At the moment, the two bears are the only publicly named animals at the wildlife park.

In addition to Benton and Fern, the name choices in the survey - all submitted by staff members - were: Tahoma and Olympia; Sitka and Madrona; and Ridge and Meadow.

Benton and Fern were the informal names staff members at the Topeka zoo used for the two American black bears, which are siblings.

The black bears can be seen in their 1-acre forested exhibit, which includes tall trees for them to climb, pools for them to swim in and lots of logs and brush for them to sit on and ramble through.

The bears were orphaned as cubs in Oregon and have lived at Topeka Zoo for most of their lives. Northwest Trek also has two grizzly bears.

The wildlife park is open from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

To see a video of zookeeper Angela Gibson talking about the bears, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCmLH1cVJZA&list=UUqlQGBOoTTlPTydFi818xWw