Two grizzly bear cubs will soon be making their way to Madison in a move that Henry Vilas Zoo staffers hope will encourage contributions for its Arctic Passage exhibit.

The sister cubs will come from a zoo in Bismarck, North Dakota, where the mother was euthanized after she was found disrupting local communities. The bears are expected to arrive next summer with the completion of the zoo’s Arctic Passage.

The Henry Vilas Zoo began construction of its new Arctic Passage in March, breaking ground on one of the first developments in the zoo’s updating “masterplan.”

“The Arctic Passage is the largest project the zoo has ever undertaken,” said Alison Prange, executive director of Friends of the Zoo.

Jeff Halter, the zoo’s deputy director, said the Arctic Passage would take up more than 1.7 acres of the east side of the grounds. He said the project will provide habitats for grizzly bears, polar bears and seals, and also include the first indoor dining restaurant in the zoo’s history.

The zoo still needs to raise $700,000, and Prange said the donations and support from the community have come in all shapes and sizes.

“They range from single digit numbers, five or 10, to hundreds and thousands and even millions of dollars for the zoo,” Prange said. “It just shows that there’s support far and wide for the zoo and for what it does for the community.”

One anonymous donor offered to donate $50,000 if the community donations could match it two to one.

While Halter said the zoo appreciates receiving donations from students and community members, he tries to send them home with the zoo’s conservatism message in return.

“Conservation is so important to the mission,” he said. “You’ll really see through this project our zoo is continuing to transform and [transport them] to the tundra of the polar bear or the Midwest of the grizzly bear.”