Calgary Zoo officials say a one-year-old grizzly bear named 'Fitz' made a brief escape from his compound on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. Fitz, shown in this handout from the Calgary Zoo/Wilder Institute, was found on the zoo grounds, immobilized and returned to his home. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo/Cyrielle Fuchs (Mandatory Credit)
Calgary Zoo officials say a one-year-old grizzly bear named 'Fitz' made a brief escape from his compound on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. Fitz, shown in this handout from the Calgary Zoo/Wilder Institute, was found on the zoo grounds, immobilized and returned to his home. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo/Cyrielle Fuchs (Mandatory Credit)
CALGARY - A grizzly bear cub that escaped its enclosure at the Calgary zoo over the weekend did so by scaling a three-metre wire and mesh fence.
Colleen Baird, director of animal care at the Wilder Institute鈥檚 Calgary Zoo, says staff are looking at ways to tighten security but that there are enough checks and redundant safety procedures in place.
鈥淚t鈥檚 safe to come to the zoo,鈥 Baird told reporters Monday.
Baird said Fitz, the one-year-old bear, managed to climb over the fence, which is more than two metres tall with an extra metre on top that slopes inward.
A morning check by staff Sunday around 7:30 a.m. 鈥 before the zoo opened 鈥 found Fitz was free.
Shortly after, he was discovered near his enclosure. He was anesthetized and returned safely to his habitat by 9 a.m.
Police said officers were called to provide support during the capture, but they remained outside the zoo and were not needed.
Baird said there鈥檚 no physical evidence or security camera footage to indicate that the cub had wandered the zoo grounds.聽
鈥淲e would have seen other evidence,鈥 Baird said. 鈥淏ears are destructive. There鈥檚 lots of mud and muck. We would have seen footprints.
鈥淚鈥檓 very confident this bear was not travelling around the zoo at night.鈥
She said it鈥檚 surprising Fitz got out. 鈥淗e would have had to go through some pretty heavy lifting."
If he had tried to break out of the zoo altogether, she said, he would have had to scale a high perimeter fence and overhang with barbed wire.
While security procedures are reviewed, Fitz and his brother Turner are to stay out of public view.
鈥淭he habitat remains safe and suitable. Our review now is focused on understanding exactly how the incident occurred so that we can implement targeted improvements," Baird said.
Fitz and Turner were orphaned in the wild last fall near Diamond Valley, south of Calgary. Their mother was killed in what the zoo described as a human-wildlife encounter. Considered too young to survive on their own, they were brought to the zoo and introduced to the public in May.
The zoo has previously investigated other problems, including the deaths of some animals.
In 2024, a mandrill died after undergoing emergency surgery. Also that year, a polar bear drowned, when its trachea was crushed by another bear during rough play.
A few months later, a young lowland gorilla also died, when a worker closed a wrong door and hit the animal's head.
This report by 好色tvwas first published Aug. 17, 2026.