Tundra and Kootenai have a new home, and it’s more than your average den. Harmony Hill, the new space for Denver Zoo’s two rescued grizzly bears, not only offers an upgraded living area for the former residents of Bear Mountain, it also gives visitors an innovative way to learn how to coexist with wildlife.
Walk into the exhibit—in the former Northern Shore space—and you’ll enter a national park-like setting. Informative signs, in both English and Spanish, and displays, including a tent and camping site, explain how humans can safely visit or camp in bear country. Walk farther along the path and you enter a setting that may look a little like your home and backyard. This creative space reminds visitors that bears can make their way into neighborhoods along the Front Range, and shares tips families can use to discourage bears from visiting or returning.
“This is a completely innovative interpretation of an exhibit, usually it’s just what you would see if you were in [the animal’s] habitat,” says Carlie McGuire, public relations coordinator for the Denver Zoo. But this design, incorporating elements of the human world, helps to tell the bears’ stories as well as teach visitors how to live in harmony with bears.
Pull up a spot on a couch near a viewing area for a great glimpse of Tundra and Kootenai exploring their new space, and watch for daily programming and demonstrations to see how keepers care for
the duo.
