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Western Nebraska zoo announces names of orphaned bears

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — A western Nebraska zoo that took in two orphaned grizzly cubs last year has announced the names of the bears.

The Riverside Discovery Center in Scottsbluff says zoo visitors selected “Smokey” and “Bandit.”

Those names garnered the most votes in a monthlong contest that allowed zoo visitors to cast votes on the names.

The cubs were orphaned last spring when a Wyoming black bear hunter illegally killed their mother. Wildlife officials had hoped the cubs would survive in the wild without their mother, but it became clear after several months they would not. Officials then captured the cubs to find them a new home.

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