A brown bear injured at the Alaska Zoo last month in a fight with a larger bear has been transferred to a new location, state officials say.
The attack was captured by a visitor in a lengthy and widely viewed video that showed the larger bear clamping down violently on the smaller bear’s back.
The smaller bear became a zoo resident following a June 2025 raid on a wildlife center near Haines by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The bear was known as Kitty at the facility, operated by Steve Kroschel. The larger animal is known as Izzy, a brown bear that came to the zoo years ago as an orphaned cub from King Cove.
Kitty, who was renamed Taiga, has been relocated to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center at Portage, according to a Facebook post from the Alaska Zoo on Thursday.
The relocation was made “while decisions regarding her permanent placement are considered,” zoo officials wrote. “She will remain separated from other bears during this time.”
The encounter that injured the bear occurred June 14. The bears had shared an enclosure since September 2025 without any prior incidents, Fish and Game officials said in a statement Thursday. The smaller bear has made a full recovery, zoo officials say.
A brown bear injured at the Alaska Zoo last month in a fight with a larger bear has been transferred to a new location, state officials say.
The attack was captured by a visitor in a lengthy and widely viewed video that showed the larger bear clamping down violently on the smaller bear’s back.
The smaller bear became a zoo resident following a June 2025 raid on a wildlife center near Haines by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The bear was known as Kitty at the facility, operated by Steve Kroschel. The larger animal is known as Izzy, a brown bear that came to the zoo years ago as an orphaned cub from King Cove.
Kitty, who was renamed Taiga, has been relocated to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center at Portage, according to a Facebook post from the Alaska Zoo on Thursday.
The relocation was made “while decisions regarding her permanent placement are considered,” zoo officials wrote. “She will remain separated from other bears during this time.”
The encounter that injured the bear occurred June 14. The bears had shared an enclosure since September 2025 without any prior incidents, Fish and Game officials said in a statement Thursday. The smaller bear has made a full recovery, zoo officials say.
A department spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions Thursday.
The brown bear habitat at the zoo has been closed since last month’s incident “after threats were made against the bears, and to provide all three bears with a quiet environment,” the zoo said in a statement Thursday. “The bears remained separated until the decision was made to relocate Kitty.”
The post referred to online threats to the bears, as well as staff, “which is why our social media has been on comment restrictions for the past month and will remain so for the time being,” zoo spokesperson Katie Larson said in an email. “I can’t elaborate more than that.”
The visitor who filmed last month’s fight said the incident was deeply disturbing and occurred with numerous people watching, including children.
It’s not unusual for wild brown bears to fight each other, occasionally to the death. A state biologist has said the bear from the Haines center had not been around other bears before coming to the zoo last year.
In Thursday’s statement, Fish and Game said officials there were “confident the situation was managed promptly and appropriately by Alaska Zoo staff. Upon observing the altercation, zoo personnel acted quickly to prevent further escalation and by quickly and safely separating the animals.”
Zoo officials said the smaller bear’s injuries healed well and the animal experienced no complications. They also said the bear needed “significant care” after leaving the Haines facility “in poor physical condition,” according to the statement.
Kroschel is facing criminal charges including felony animal cruelty associated with last year’s seizure of dozens of animals at his facility. He is currently living in Russia, he said in an interview last month. He calls the Alaska Zoo incident the “Kitty mauling” and questioned the decision to put his female bear in with two males.
Two bears currently at the zoo are Izzy and Oreo, a female.
Kroschel, who is wanted on an arrest warrant, said he plans to return to Alaska for his court case.
He is representing himself, but attorney Benjamin S. Dresner of Dresner Zelinsky LLC is providing legal assistance for now, according to a filing this week in the case.
“Given that Mr. Kroschel is a pro se litigant presently located in the Russian Federation, and without reliable access to internet and phone, undersigned counsel has been retained for the limited purpose of assisting Mr. Kroschel with attempting to come back into compliance with the Court,” the filing states.
Kroschel plans to represent himself once back in Alaska, according to the filing.
The post Former Kroschel bear injured in fight last month at Alaska Zoo relocated to new facility appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.
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