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