A bear-y warm welcome to these two.
Credit: Flamingo Gardens
Two young black bears with a heartbreaking backstory are Broward County's newest residents.
Beginning Saturday, June 6, visitors to Flamingo Gardens will be able to meet Bentley and Treena, two orphaned American black bear cubs who recently arrived from Chestatee Wildlife Preserve in Dahlonega, Georgia.
Now approximately 14 months old, the siblings were rescued after their mother was killed in Georgia's Bent Tree community last year. Following a community-wide search effort, the cubs were safely recovered and brought into the care of wildlife specialists, who bottle-fed and raised them during their earliest months.
Bentley and Treena were named in honor of the Bent Tree community that rallied behind their rescue. Because they became dependent on human care during rehabilitation, the bears cannot be released back into the wild. Instead, they'll spend their lives serving as wildlife ambassadors while calling Davie home.
At Flamingo Gardens, the pair will enjoy a sprawling 10,000-square-foot habitat — 25 times larger than Florida's state-mandated minimum for bears. At roughly three feet tall and 100 pounds each, the cubs still have plenty of growing to do. Black bears in managed care can live between 24 and 26 years.
Their arrival comes just months after the passing of Josh, Flamingo Gardens' longtime resident black bear, who died in January at age 27 after spending 13 years at the attraction.
"This journey is both heartbreaking and hopeful," said Flamingo Gardens CEO Keith Clark in a statement. "We are incredibly proud to provide them with a loving forever home while helping educate our community about wildlife conservation and coexistence."
For Flamingo Gardens, which cares for injured, non-releasable and rescued wildlife from across Florida and beyond, Bentley and Treena represent a new chapter in its conservation mission — and perhaps the cutest new residents in Broward County? We’ll let you be the judge.
For more information, visit FlamingoGardens.org.
