Grizzly Bears Betty And Veronica Make First Public Appearance At Central Park Zoo

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- It's frigid outside but Central Park Zoo newcomers Betty and Veronica find their new quarters quite cozy.

The grizzly bears are making their first public appearance on Friday.

The pair is living in an exhibit that had housed the beloved polar bear Gus who died last year, the Wildlife Conservation Society said.

The 6,000-foot habitat has been rebuilt with more waterfalls and streams to keep them active.

The four-level viewing area allows visitors to get up close. At the lowest level they can see the 600-pound bears underwater.

"It's designed so that they'll stay where they belong and be safe and happy; and they get a wonderful view of the Manhattan skyline from inside their exhibit too," Craig Piper, Director of WCS City Zoos, told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond.

Zoo visitors are in for a treat. Officials had said Betty and Veronica come when they're called, stand for a belly exam — and even offer their claws for a nail trim.

Betty and Veronica had lived at the Bronx Zoo since 1995. Betty originally came from Montana and Veronica from near Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

"This new exhibit and these grizzly bears are great additions to the Central Park Zoo," Piper said in a statement. "This exhibit will provide us an opportunity to help people better understand how to safely coexist with bears when visiting or living in bear country."

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