This undated photo shows a Kodiak bear named Dodge at the Toledo Zoo in Toledo, Ohio.  Dodge arrived last fall at the zoo.

This undated photo shows a Kodiak bear named Dodge at the Toledo Zoo in Toledo, Ohio. Dodge arrived last fall at the zoo.

Alaska sends orphaned Kodiak bear to Ohio zoo in rare move

TOLEDO, Ohio — One of three Kodiak bears whose mother was killed by hunters has been relocated from Alaska to an Ohio zoo in a rare move.

The Blade newspaper reported the male cub, named Dodge, arrived last fall at the Toledo Zoo. He’s bonded with two female grizzly cubs that were moved from Yellowstone National Park after their mother killed a hiker and was killed.

The zoo expects the cubs will go on public exhibit this summer.

The zoo says hunters without a guide killed Dodge’s mother last spring. It’s illegal to kill female bears with cubs in Alaska. A second, guided group of hunters later searched for and found the cubs.

The cubs initially were hand-reared at the Alaska Zoo. Dodge’s siblings went to a zoo in Marshfield, Wisconsin.

More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast through the week of Feb. 1

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

Tim Ackerman begins the process of removing a dead seal’s pelt on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, on the Letnikof Cove shoreline. (Rashah McChesney/Chilkat Valley News)
Five headless seals have washed up on Chilkat Valley beaches in the last few months; here’s possibly why

Local marine mammal hunter weighs says the carcasses offer a glimpse into Alaska’s marine ecosystem.

Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people gather in Juneau for the opening of Celebration on June 5, 2024. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
New lawsuit seeks to limit Alaska Native tribes’ authority, stop Eklutna gambling hall

State challenges legal interpretation that allows tribes to exert authority over as much as 2.7M acres.

The Alaska State Capitol is seen on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in front of snow-covered Mount Juneau. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Gov. Dunleavy proposes new limits on Alaskans’ ability to record conversations

A new proposal from Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy would require all sides… Continue reading

Jamiann S’eiltin Hasselquist asks participants to kneel as a gesture to “stay grounded in the community” during a protest in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Wednesday focused on President Donald Trump’s actions since the beginning of his second term. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Trump protest rally at Alaska State Capitol targets Nazi-like salutes, challenges to Native rights

More than 120 people show up as part of nationwide protest to actions during onset of Trump’s second term.

A sign at the former Floyd Dryden Middle School on Monday, June 24, 2025, commemorates the school being in operation from 1973 to 2024. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Assembly ponders Floyd Dryden for tribal youth programs, demolishing much of Marie Drake for parking

Tlingit and Haida wants to lease two-thirds of former middle school for childcare and tribal education.

A person is detained in Anchorage in recent days by officials from the FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (FBI Anchorage Field Office photo)
Trump’s immigration raids arrive in Alaska, while Coast Guard in state help deportations at southern US border

Anchorage arrests touted by FBI, DEA; Coast Guard plane from Kodiak part of “alien expulsion flight operations.”

Two flags with pro-life themes, including the lower one added this week to one that’s been up for more than a year, fly along with the U.S. and Alaska state flags at the Governor’s House on Tuesday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Doublespeak: Dunleavy adds second flag proclaiming pro-life allegiance at Governor’s House

First flag that’s been up for more than a year joined by second, more declarative banner.

Students play trumpets at the first annual Jazz Fest in 2024. (Photo courtesy of Sandy Fortier)
Join the second annual Juneau Jazz Fest to beat the winter blues

Four-day music festival brings education of students and Southeast community together.

Most Read