By Tom Morphet

Animal trainer Steve Krochel has adopted an infant Kodiak brown bear cub, likely to become the star attraction at his Mosquito Lake wildlife park.

The 25-pound female was orphaned with a twin when discovered by a hunter on an island near Kodiak and brought to authorities May 25. Kroschel figures the cub was out of its birth den six to eight weeks.

"She was quite starved out at the time. The other one ran off" and likely died, he said. "The hunter brought her in in a five-gallon bucket with its lid taped down. She was all spit and fire," he said.

But because of the bear’s young age and its relatively short time in the wild, he’s hoping to be able to train it to be comfortable around people like Bart the Bear, a Kodiak bear used in numerous movies that came to Haines during the making of the film "White Fang."

The bear he’s named Kitty has the potential to be a film star or "ambassador" for teaching people about bears and wildlife, he said. Doug Seuss, who trained Bart the Bear, has phoned daily since Kroschel brought the bruin to Haines Friday, he said.

Brown bears develop a trust of humans only during their first few months of life, he said. "If she was two months older, she wouldn’t have that trust. This one was just on the edge of (losing) that," Kroschel said.

Since Friday, he’s started an intensive bonding exercise he’ll continue for at least a month. "I sit in the bear house and sleep with her and pretend I’m eating her mush. In the last 24 hours we’ve made a wonderful breakthrough. We actually roll around and wrestle like children. She thinks I’m her mother."

Besides fruit and vegetables, Kroschel has been feeding the bear a drink that combines applesauce, dandelion juice, carrot juice, raw goat’s milk and cream from local cows. He’ll be shifting to a more protein-based diet in a week or two. "So I’m looking for some salmon scraps."

Kroschel said the coming year will be critical for making an indelible impression in the bear’s brain. That will be key to ensuring that he knows what the animal is thinking at all times, especially when he’s in close contact, he said.

"One mistake with a bear can kill you or cripple you for life, so I’m using every trick in my book," he said. "She’s got this trust developing. She wants to have that, but she’s been through hell."

Brown bears typically live 20 to 30 years. Bart, a male bear, grew to almost 1,400 pounds on a generous diet, dying at age 20 of cancer. Kroschel figures Kitty will grow to between 800 and 1,000 pounds and he hopes he can extend its life with a diet of healthy, organic foods. She will gain most of her weight during the next two years and reach full size and sexual maturity at age four, he said.

The bear will go into a half-acre exhibition pasture at the 60-acre park, which includes a locking bear house and is contained within an 11-foot fence. But he also expects to take the bear on "supervised forays" on his property, under controlled conditions.

"Nobody wants to see a zoo bear, unhappy and pacing around a cage. Nobody wants to see that at all," he said. (She) won’t have to live like a bear in the wild, but she will experience the wild habitat."

The bear joins a black bear cub Kroschel adopted in December. Because that bear was on its own nine months when adopted, it won’t develop that same intimacy that’s possible between him and the grizzly, he said.

"It’s much more of a challenge with her because of her age, but she’s coming along nicely." Black bears can learn at later ages while brown bears – which are more quick-tempered – must be trained as newborns, he said. As brown and black bears are natural enemies, the two will be kept apart, he said.

To schedule a park visit, phone 767-5464.