Seattle: The peaceful winter slumber of Woodland Park Zoo’s twin 10-year-old grizzly bears came to an abrupt end this weekend when vandals smashed the outer layer of the viewing window in their cave. Unfortunately, this means the 900-pound bears will be off view for a few days while exhibit technicians create a temporary fix for them - a large metal barrier restricting their access to the window. The metal barrier will remain in place while the zoo orders and then installs another piece of special three-layered tempered safety glass. At no time was the safety of zoo visitors compromised.

“Any concern about the safety of zoo visitors and of the bears was resolved once the exhibit was emptied,” said zookeeper Carl Granquist. “The safety glass did just what it was designed to do.” The glass in the grizzly bear cave consists of two layers of _-inch tempered safety glass with a layer of plastic in between each layer of glass. These precautions are taken to prevent the bears from getting out and to prevent visitors from getting in. Reinstallation of the new glass must be done from inside the exhibit, at which time the bear brothers will be pulled off exhibit again for a few days.

“I don’t know why anyone would do such a thing,” exclaims Woodland Park Zoo President and CEO Dr. Deborah Jensen. “Both the bears and our visitors will lose out due to this thoughtless prank.”

Zoo staff is working tirelessly to get the bears back into their home, an award-winning, naturalistic exhibit featuring a braided stream, underwater viewing and a large yard. “The bears’ safety and well-being is the most important part of my job,” says Granquist. “These vandals have compromised their safety! Fortunately they have a large, comfortable holding area where they will continue to receive the best possible care until it is safe to let them back into their exhibit.”

“This incident is taking time and is costing the zoo money that we just don’t have to spare,” noted Jensen. “Luckily our staff caught the problem right away and are already designing appropriate repairs.”