Heather Patrice Brown
Marketing and Development Officer
If you have visited Sunset Zoo in the mornings during their recent switch to spring/summer hours (9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.), you may have seen a new fluffy face in Expedition Asia! Kartick, a male sloth bear, arrived on December 10, 2025 from San Diego Zoo as a new mate for Sunset Zoo’s resident female, Tess.
Kartick’s pairing with Tess was a recommendation of the Sloth Bear Species Survival Plan (SSP). The SSP, in cooperation with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), evaluates the populations of a particular species in human care at select institutions and makes breeding recommendations based on genetic variability. This is especially critical for vulnerable species like the sloth bear, whose population has decreased by nearly 50% in the last 30 years
Kartick was born at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington on December 27, 2017 and is currently eight years old. He was transferred to the San Diego Zoo in 2019 before coming to Kansas last December. All animals who arrive at Sunset Zoo have to go through a period of quarantine in case they carry any potentially contagious ailments. During this time, they are separated from all other animals until they pass a rigorous veterinary exam. After Kartick cleared quarantine, keepers began slowly introducing him to Tess. This started with something simple like swapping the bedding between the bears so they could get used to each other’s smell. Then they let the bears smell each other through the shift doors. Currently, they are letting one bear into the other’s vacant den, so they can become even more familiar with each other. Introducing two animals is an intentionally slow process to maximize safety. Taking the process slowly is especially important for potentially dangerous animals, who have a greater possibility of injuring each other if an introduction goes poorly. Our keepers are doing everything they can to ensure the process goes as well as possible.