Fortress of the Bear

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United States
Sitka, AK
Fortress of the Bear

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Providing protection and care to orphaned bears in an enriching, educational environment. Until now. Our rescue center opened in 2007, and now houses 8 bears.
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Bears ruled Alaska long before fishermen, gold miners, or cruise ships arrived. As their territory has diminished, more and more bear cubs have become orphaned. The state of Alaska has no bear rehabilitation program in place, and unfortunately orphaned cubs are routinely shot by the Department of Fish and Game for lack of an alternative. At Fortress of the Bear, our mission is to rescue cubs, bring them back to health and provide a long life full of enrichment. More than 20,000 visitors per year come to experience the majesty of these amazing creatures. We've sent cubs to the Bronx Zoo, Montana Grizzly Encounter and the International Big Cat in Boyd, Texas - we’ve given a total of 3 bear cubs a second chance. Our goal is to work with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game to someday release rehabbed bears back into the wild. As a 501(C)3 not-for-profit organization, we rely solely on admission fees and donations for funding.

10/27/2026

We had so much fun celebrating OctoBEAR Fest with everyone this past weekend! Thank you to everyone that visited, we hope you enjoyed donating your pumpkins to our happy, sleepy bears. We loved all the entries to our coloring contest, and will be delivering prize bags this week…!

10/25/2026

It's OctoBEAR Fest day 2, and our FINAL open day until April 2027! Join us for games, crafts and a photobooth 10am-2pm today. Bring your rain boots and a pumpkin to hide in one of the bear habitats at 12pm! 🐻🎃❤️

10/24/2026

It's OctoBEAR Fest time!! We're feeling swampy in our Shrek-themed outfits today! Come hang out with us!

10/23/2026

We're all set for OctoBEAR Fest this weekend!! Come join us 10am-2pm for our two final open days of the year, with crafts, games, a fall photobooth and our annual coloring contest.

Bring a gutted pumpkin to hide in one of the bear habitats at 12pm each day this weekend. Don't forget your adult supervision and rain boots!! 🐻🎃🌧

10/20/2026

Thank you to everyone in the Sitka School District that booked a complimentary educational field trip with us this October! Our bear care team loved sharing our new mission-driven lesson plans with you!

10/18/2026

Reminder that Fortress of the Bear is closed today for Alaska Day, but look out for us in the parade...! 🐻🍁

10/11/2026

New this season! 🤣 Get ready to bear-ly contain your excitement for this comfy Comfort Colors Tee featuring all three black bears! 😂 Super soft, super fun, and super available now! Thanks Tim for being our model. https://www.fortressofthebear.org/store/blue-adult-tee-black-bears

10/07/2026

Score amazing deals on our storewide (in store only) PFD sale every weekend in October! 🎉 Snag gifts for loved ones or treat yourself. Avoid the last-minute rush and shop early! 📅 See you on the weekends!

10/05/2026

We’d like to say another big thank you to everyone that made purchases connected to our Community Bear Hug program this summer. Over the course of 5 months, we raised a total of $6,285.35, which was donated right back into our local community to 5 different non-profit organizations.

10/02/2026

For our final Community Bear Hug month of the season, we raised $1202.68 for 3 to 5 Preschool! These funds will go to great use for their scholarship program, which will be used to provide early childhood education for families in our community! As always, we’d like to thank everyone who supported this monthly fundraiser!

Address

4639 Sawmill Creek Road
Sitka, AK
99835

Telephone

+19077473550

Website

http://www.fortressofthebear.org/

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