Related videos:
The Brevard Zoo, located in Melbourne, Florida, announced the addition of three American black bear cubs to its Black Bear Rehabilitation Center: Sammy, Scruffy, and Grape, the first patients of the 2026 season of the program.
The three cubs were rescued by the Bear Management Team of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) after being found abandoned and alone, without their mother.
"Without the guidance of their mother, bear cubs like this trio lack the necessary skills to survive in their natural habitat — that's where we come in," the zoo said while announcing the arrival of the three animals.
The most common cause of orphanhood in black bear cubs is the death of the adult female due to vehicle collisions, a reality that makes rehabilitation an essential tool for the conservation of the species.
The specialized center of the Brevard Zoo, operated by the East Coast Zoological Foundation, opened in May 2025 and features 3,500 square feet of facilities designed to accommodate up to 15 puppies simultaneously, with natural structures and vegetation that mimic the wild habitat.
Since August 2023, the zoo has been receiving orphaned, injured, or ill cubs sent by the FWC. By 2025, the center had released 12 cubs into natural habitats in Florida, and that year received a total of 17 bears: two juveniles and 15 cubs.
The FWC rehabilitation program has been in existence since 2009, when it began collaborating with the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. Between 2009 and 2024, the program released 94 cubs and seven juvenile black bears in Florida.
The context of conservation is not without tensions. In August 2025, the FWC approved the first regulated black bear hunting season since 2015, which took place between December 6 and 28 of that year, with 172 permits issued.
The result was the hunting of 52 black bears throughout the state, making the rehabilitation work with cubs like Sammy, Scruffy, and Grape even more significant.
Due to the arrival of the three new patients, the Brevard Zoo invites the public to its BearFest event, scheduled from June 5 to June 7, 2026, coinciding with National Black Bear Day on June 5.
The event will include a Teddy Bear Clinic, where visitors can bring their stuffed animals for a "medical check-up" inspired by the actual procedures applied to bears in rehabilitation, according to the zoo.
The program by FWC and its partners, such as the Brevard Zoo, represents one of the most active conservation initiatives in the southeastern United States to protect the Florida black bear, a native subspecies whose population has historically been reduced due to hunting and habitat loss.
Filed under: