"Momma was a trash bear and the babies learned very quickly that the cafeteria was a trash can," said Roswell Spring River Park & Zoo Director Elaine Mayfield.
But now these two cubs are the newest residents at the Spring River Park & Zoo in Roswell.
It's a place where zookeepers say the animals will never have to scrounge for food again.
"It's nice that we have them here," said Mayfield. It's a shame they can't be in the wild, but we will take them. They will be education ambassadors."
Mayfield says the 7-month-old bears don't necessarily have the best record with the New Mexico Game and Fish Department and neither did their mom.
"Several weeks ago, we had a female bear causing problems, breaking into cabins and things like that. She had lost all fear of humans and this was actually in downtown Ruidoso, so our officers responded, and of course this female bear had a couple cubs," said New Mexico Game and Fish public information officer Mark Madsen.
Madsen says the mother bear had created so many problems he and his staff had to put her down.
Luckily for the babies, now known as Sierra and Ursella, the Roswell zoo just happened to be looking for a new addition. Their bear, Otto, passed away last month.
Zoo officials say the cubs are being housed in a temporary pin while they do some maintenance work on Otto's old home. They say they hope to have the bears moved into a permanent enclosure within the next month. More
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