A snack for the Aalborg bears

Malik sits at the restaurant table, waiting for someone
 to take her order and serve her a fine gourmet dinner.

As 2023 comes to an end, one more look back at my visit to Aalborg Denmark in September.  In the wild, polar bears mostly prey on seals, and occasionally on a beached whale.

But in zoos, what do they have for dinner? They have some interesting favorites in Aalborg Zoo in Denmark, things that they would never dream of in the wild.

Fish is regularly served up to the polar bears, sometimes Salmon, sometimes mackerel,
 sometimes even trout.

Polar bears need lots of fat. Sometimes they are given lard, which the bears find yummy. Sometimes they get skin with layers of fat, and they have to work hard to get the fat off.

Malik enjoying some fatty skin the cubs just dug up out of the gravel.

Sisters Imaq and Inuk wonder how to share this fatty skin.

Children may pester their mother,
 but still are welcome in this restaurant.
Malik is still waiting to be served.

In September, our group of polar bear fans got a special treat ourselves when we we allowed to go behind the scenes and bring fruit and vegetables from a list approved by the zookeepers. Some of the vegetables came from our gardens. The bears got cucumbers, tomatoes, apples, pears, celery, carrots and more.

A special treat, corn on the cob, already shucked,
 and brought by visitors.

Three watermelons, one for each. They really like the melon.
This was the first time they had it.

Here the bears get some pears from a visitor in the polar bear group.

Grapes are good too. Like a Roman orgy.

Malik's favorite is celery.

The cubs like celery too.

Yummy carrots

Celeriac is very funny looking, but Malik loves it.

The kids are liking their carrots. Synchronized eating.

Dinner is served. It looks like Fennel and Fish are on the menu.

The favorite meal for the cubs comes from Mom.
Even though they are four years old.

Malik and her girls of Aalborg Zoo

 

Inuk, Imaq and Mother Malik.
The cub who stays on land is on the left,
 and the cub who likes the water is in the middle.

My first international trip in almost five years, and I missed Aalborg Zoo most of all. I had not yet met Malik's most recent twins, Imaq and Inuq, the offspring of the late Nord. So I arranged to spend some time in Aalborg in September, and it was a gathering of polar bear fans as well.

Here I am with Ralph from the UK, in front of one of the lower windows, as the cubs roll in the river rocks. Photo by my friend Sussi

Although the cubs, who turned four years old in November, have been chipped, with a name assigned to each chip, even the keepers seem are not quite sure which one is Imaq and which is Inuk. DNA tests have shown that both are girls. The cubs are a bit smaller than their mom, but not by much, so it is easy to mix the three of them up at times. They were still nursing in September, even at that age, so sometimes you can tell it is Malik when you can see the milk bar on her chest, or the trailing beard under her chin.

Malik still nursing her cubs, who are almost four years old.

At this age, the cubs are easy to tell apart, both by appearance and by behavior.

Malik in the middle, with the cub who likes water on the left,
and the cub who stays on land is on the right.

One of the girls has a bigger head and thicker neck, and almost a fluffy mane of fur, and she is a little darker. That one tends to hang around her mother a little more, often following Malik about, and this cub is usually on land, only goes into the water sometimes to play with her sister or fetch food, reluctantly. 

The land favoring cub on the left, with Mother Malik.
She likes to be near mom.

The other cub has a more streamlined look, sleeker fur and is lighter in color. She is the independent girl, away from mom a lot more, and tends to be in the water most of the time. 

Water cub and Land cub

Water cub and Land cub, Imaq and Inuk, who is who?

There are times when both cubs are in the water, having some wonderful splashy battles, or enjoying the many snacks the keepers throw in for them. Or they are both on land.

Sisters wrestle in the water

Another way to tell the cubs apart is that the cub who likes to be near mom and stay on land also really likes to interact with the visitors, especially my friend Ralph. She would spend forever sitting with him, playing with him, talking to him. We were all enchanted with the "bearmance."

The cub who likes to be on land also really likes Ralph.

                          Watch out, she wants to eat that hat.

The special gathering of polar bear fans was held on Wednesday, September 13, and it was open to anyone who wanted to come to the zoo that day. Ralph from the UK was there, as well as Marga and Hartmut from Berlin. And of course the Danish fans.

Some of the polar bear group, photo by Jeanette.

The highlight of the day came when we were allowed a behind the scenes visit to the polar bears, and we brought fruits and vegetables to feed them, approved by the keeper. We brought apples, pears and grapes, as well as carrots, cucumbers, shucked corn on the cob and tomatoes. Their favorite treat seems to be celery. 

One of the guests feeding cucumbers to the bears.

It is exciting to be so close to the polar bears, and to watch their delight as they got their special treats. I fed them the corn, giving each bear a cob, but one cub stole from her sister, and ran away with two cobs all to herself. 

The cub who likes to be in the water seems to be dominant,
 as she her sister's cob of corn and ran away.

Jeanette also brought three watermelons for the keeper to throw into the pool later. That was a big hit too.

Waiting for the watermelons

Watermelon in the water

Best to find a place to eat this, away from sister.

Chowing down

Running away with the prize. There were three melons for three bears.

Making a delicious mess. They ended up eating the rind too.

Some leftover grapes are found

The Toledo twins at one year

A little watermelon for the cubs

Kallu and Kallik clean up after the party

Kallik and Kallu, twin sons of Crystal and Nuka, were treated to a grand birthday party on November 11 in honor of their first birthday. Mom Crystal turned 25 the previous day, and she was included in the festivities of course.

The cakes before the bears came roaring in. 

Watermelon is the recent favorite treat.

Three bears and a play spool. 

The keepers had built three "birthday cakes" made of watermelon, lettuce, lard and a carrot on top for a candle, each sitting on a block that had been labeled for each bear. Kallik and Kallu's boxes included their nicknames, Lightning and Thunder.  

Some of the birthday cards made by the children.

A good crowd of fans turned out for the party, including many children, and many made cards for the birthday boys. Since the zoo has shown the growth of the cubs since birth on a public webcam, many have followed K and K since those early days, and they have many fans.

Crystal in back, and one of the cubs, probably Kallu,
 who likes to be near mom.

The bears cannot read, or at least did not bother to check the writings, so just went to the nearest cake, and after that, just traded off. 

The birthday party for Crystal and her cubs.

The keepers told me that once a year, they try out different produce for the bears to see if their tastes have changed. Even though these foods are not available in the wild where the bears live in nature, zoos have found that polar bears really love their fruits and vegetables when they can get them. Right now, the Toledo bears prefer watermelon. 

Crystal is also very fond of seaweed, so there were balls of seaweed for her.

Yummy seaweed for Crystal

Some fish were also given to the bears as part of the birthday feast.

Kallu with some of the fish treats.

Kallik was much smaller when he was born, maybe half the size of his brother, but he has caught up since then, and now his weight is reported at 320 to 340 pounds. Kallu, the bigger cub, weighs 340 to 360 pounds.

When they were younger, it was easier to tell Kallik from his bigger brother, but now they are nearly the same size. How to tell them apart? Kallu has a longer tail, and there is less fur on his tail so the black skin shows through. Kallu sometimes has a spot on his forehead too. 

Because Kallu has less fur on his tail,
 there seems to be a black streak. One way to tell them apart.

During their first year, Kallu has tended to stay near his mother, while the smaller Kallik has been more independent. But on Saturday, while the boys did play together in the water for a bit, and Kallu tended to check in with his mother quite often, mostly they were off on their own, each doing their own thing, after consuming most of the birthday treats, leaving Crystal to do as she wished, sometimes napping, sometimes just watching the boys play.

Kallu plays with the pickle lid, and Crystal check in.

Kallu and Kallik both love playing with the black plastic pickle lids, hiding them, flipping them around, tossing them in the air. 

Kallik plays with the floating iceberg, and Crystal observes.

Kallik played quite a bit with the "new" floating iceberg, which was brought out for their birthday. But he would incorporate his lid in the play. 

Kallik having a blast with the new iceberg.

Kallik and Kallu's father, Nuka, returned to the Detroit Zoo last spring, and now Suka, who is also Crystal's daughter, is said to be denned up and awaiting the birth of cubs again. Suka gave birth three years ago to twin girls, and one was raised by keepers. These girls now live in the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Washington.  

Most likely, Nuka will not return to Toledo, since Crystal is 25 years old and her genes are so well represented, Kallik and Kallu will most likely be her last cubs. She is already mother to nine bears, which includes three sets of twins.

As the birthday morning wore on, the cubs enjoyed playing together in the water.

Sort of Synchronized Swimming.

Playing together but not really together.

Maybe something fun over here?

Time to get up and check out the party leftovers.

Someone caught a fish!
It was part of the party treats laid out.
Kallu was carrying them about.

The black plastic lids were big hit. Great for tossing, and the perfect size to carry around.

Kallu is obsessed with the black plastic lids.
He hides them and then digs them out again.

Kallu balances, then flips it into the air.

Kallik likes the lids too.

Back to the party room to clean up. There are a few bits and pieces and the cubs rub their faces on the paint from the signs.

Kallu got a third eyebrow with the paint. Here he is with Crystal. 

Kallu's new fashion make-up.

Crystal and Kallu

Kallik with some fish.

Kallik got the most paint on his little face.
 A little yellow and lots of black.
 It all came off after he jumped into the pool a few minutes later.
 Cute while it lasted.

 

Kallik likes the spool.

Kallu with the spool. See the black stripe on his tail?

Happy First Birthday to our little Arctic cubs. This is Kallu.

And another surprise is coming this week, a belated birthday gift. They will surely adore playing with their new giant pickles, sent by their fans in Polar Pals.