Zoo Picks Samson’s Substitutes

Orange County Zoo officials have decided on not one but two California black bears to replace Samson, the famous hot tub-soaking, avocado-eating bear who died last month.

Both bears--a 350-pound, 3-year-old male and a 120-pound female yearling--are at a state Department of Fish and Game wildlife holding facility in Northern California, said Forrest de Spain, zoo director.

De Spain originally had some concerns about the male’s tendency to pace in his stall, a habit that is hard to break. But after talking with bear keepers and checking the bear’s records, De Spain said he learned that the behavior was “very recent and not established.”

“I felt it was good to take a chance on that because he didn’t do it often,” he said.

In recent days, De Spain has been fielding phone calls from excited zoo volunteers and others, including an avocado grower who has offered free avocados for the bears.

De Spain is working out arrival dates for the bears through Fish and Game, which has offered to truck the pair down to Orange County.

The bears have shown affection for each other in their neighboring enclosures, but they won’t be breeding. Because cubs born in captivity are not released into the wild and are difficult to place in zoos, the male bear will be neutered before arrival, De Spain said.

A contest to name the bears is being considered, said county Supervisor Todd Spitzer, whose district includes the zoo at Irvine Regional Park.