Remember Lewis and Clark - bear cubs living in West Bend? Well, they just turned one!



WEST BEND (WITI) -- They're one! You may remember "Lewis" and "Clark" -- bear cubs living at the Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary in West Bend. The bear cubs celebrated their first birthday on Tuesday, January 20th -- and it was every bit as adorable as you'd expect!



Lana and David Fechter are the owners of the Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary. The sanctuary went into operation about 25 years ago -- and involves 100 acres.

"Our zoo is unlike most zoos because we have huge areas for them. It's more like a safari. We have cougars, buffalo, elk -- a lot of birthdays! Every animal has their birthday out here," David Fechter said.

Lewis and Clark arrived at the Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary last March when they were just nine weeks old! They were abandoned by their mother at another zoo.

"Lewis and Clark we all know who they are, they were the great explorers, and little brown bears like to explore, so my wife said that would be a good name for them, and I think everybody agrees," David Fechter said.

When they first arrived at the sanctuary, they were just four pounds -- but growing fast!



“When they are full grown, they’ll probably be over 1,000 pounds each,” the Fechers said.

The bears made their debut at the sanctuary in May 2014.

Now, they've reached a major milestone.

"They're one year old! We had a little cake for them, a little treat just to spoil them. They're like two little people, actually. They're just like children, like people. They love us, and we love them. They have bunk beds, but right now they're both sleeping in the lower bunk," David Fechter said.

The bears are expected to live to be about 30 years old.

"They really have a big, happy environment here, and these guys have two-and-a-half acres here that they can play in. Watching them, you can see that these bears are very happy," David Fechter said.

The sanctuary is currently closed, but reopens May 1st, 2015.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary.



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