Fortress of the Bear

Here’s my thoughts on cruise excursions– the one that involve animals are ALWAYS the best!

Example:

We had a lovely visit to The Fortress of the Bear in Sitka, Alaska.

Since I am HUGE lover of Winnie the Pooh, this seemed like a great fit for me.  Although these bears are just a bit different than my guy, Winnie the Pooh!

This is a refuge for baby bears who have lost their mothers.  When we visited there were 9 bears in residence. Three black bears and 6 brown bears.

I love that there is an organization which takes care of orphaned bears.  Apparently, Alaska law states that baby bears orphaned by their mothers must be euthanized if they cannot be rescued.  Fortress of the Bear now has the permits to rescue these bears.  The bears are transported to Sitka and are taken care of in a natural habitat.  They roam around, swim, play with each other and just get to be bears!  The employees of the site clearly know how to see the bears grow and learn to be bears.  Their knowledge was impressive.

This bear is clearly living his best life!

We got to see the two sister bears get fed – they sling shot big beach ball sized kongs into the enclosure filled with food.  The bears knew excactly what to do – they took the balls and played and played with them until some of the food would fall out.  They would knock it around some more to get more food out.  We were also told food is hidden from the bears so they can find it.

This organization is run completely on donations.  They are non – profit.   We donated before we left and hope others will also.   I just loved you could get up close and personal with the bears – just not TOO close and personal!  Winnie the Pooh would be happy to see his bear cousins being so cared for!

Frequently asked questions about Fortress of the Bear: