St. Louis Zoo Grizzly Bear Exhibit to Open in September

St. Louis Zoo officials say a new $11-million grizzly bear exhibit is expected to open in September.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports two young grizzlies housed at a Montana zoo will be brought to the new Grizzly Ridge exhibit in St. Louis this summer and acclimate there with the windows covered before they are unveiled.

The bears — a male named Huckleberry and a female named Finley — each are younger than two years old and were orphaned in Montana last year when state wildlife officials there killed their mother.

The St. Louis zoo hasn't had grizzly bears since March 2015, when 25-year-old male grizzly Bert died after residing at the zoo since 1991.

There are about 1,500 grizzly bears in the wild in the continental United States.