Montana grizzlies in quarantine

Two Montana grizzly bears now call Colorado Springs home, but don’t expect to see them anytime soon.

They’re in quarantine at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, and will live in a closed area there until the Rocky Mountain Wild exhibit opens next spring or summer.

The bears, caught from the wild in Montana after repeatedly coming too close to humans, arrived Wednesday.

Digger, a 429-pound male, was taken to a wildlife center after bluff-charging a hiker and killing a goat. Emmett, a 325-pound male, was caught twice digging through trash in residential areas.

The bears may have been killed if the zoo hadn’t been looking to take them, Montana officials have said.

Zoo spokesman Sean Anglum said the zoo is still looking for a third bear to be part of the exhibit, which will focus on wildlife native to the Pikes Peak region.

Grizzlies once roamed the entire state, but the last one was killed near Pagosa Springs in 1979.