Hola, Agapito!

There’s a “beary” cute new resident at the San Diego Zoo! In the early morning hours of January 8, 2020, Alba the Andean bear gave birth to her first cub. The wildlife care specialists that had been watching over Alba knew she was going to have her baby soon, so they kept a close eye on her. One of those experts, Hali O’Connor, says that Alba was building her nest and paying a lot of attention to her den—like she knew she would need it.

In late April, 2020, Alba allowed the wildlife care specialists enough time for a quick exam, and it turns out the cub is a boy. He was named Agapito, which is Spanish for “beloved” and boy, is he! Hali says Alba is a very good mother and pays close attention to her baby. At first, she was a little bit of a “helicopter mom,” watching his every move. As he got older, and a little bigger, Alba began letting him wander a bit. Hali says Agapito is an adventurous cub, exploring and putting everything in his mouth—just like a human toddler. He copies his mom, helping her gather bedding. He loves water, and is learning about different types of food from his mom. He’s still nursing and not eating much, but enjoys sampling—and sometimes plays with his food—running off with larger items like pears. Yum!

Because Andean bears are very good at hiding in their habitat in South America, very little is known about mother and cub interaction. By observing Alba and Agapito, our wildlife care specialists hope to learn about what goes on in the Andean forests, and how this information can help conservation efforts there. Agapito is still a little bear, and he’s already helping Andean bears everywhere!