A boyfriend for Qannik

                                          The lovely bachelorette Qannik

Wildborn Qannik is 13 years old now, and about to get her first boyfriend.

Bo playing with a pipe feeder in Henry Vilas

 Borealis, or Bo for short, made the trip from Henry Vilas Zoo in Wisconsin to Glacier Run in Louisville a few weeks ago, and is now out of quarantine, the zoo has announced. Bo has been exploring the outdoor habitat and maybe in a few weeks, he will spend some time with Qannik. 

Qannik of Glacier Run

Qannik has never shared space with another bear, but she is quite familiar with having male bears as close neighbors. Bo's brother Siku used to live in Glacier Run, and he would watch Qannik across the way in the other enclosure. But since Qannik is property of Fish and Wildlife, she was not allowed to be part of the breeding program until just a few months ago. Lately, she has been enjoying the companionship of a wild Night Heron, who has adopted the bear habitat as its home. It will be interesting to see how Bo reacts to the bird.

Qannik and her "pet" Night Heron.

Qannik, here with a big smile, loves the water. Bo does too.

Qannik also is familiar with Lee, who lived at Glacier Run for some time, but is now back in Columbus with Bo's much older sister Aurora. Each of the male bears in Glacier Run was close by in a downstairs bedroom area, so Qannik would see them and smell them and even growl at them. But to have no bars in between, that will be something new for our girl.

Bo was very interactive with people
 when he lived in Toledo with his mom Crystal

Qannik was raised by keepers after her rescue from the oilfields of Alaska, first in the Alaska Zoo, and then after she was flown to Louisville in late June of 2011.

Bo loves toys. Here is is in Toledo as a baby.

Bo is the five year old son of Crystal and the late Marty, so he is closely related to most of the younger bears in the USA zoos. Qannik, being rescued from the wilds of Alaska as a tiny cub, has valuable genes. 

Baby Bo

Berit, on right, showed Bo the proper way to court a lady.

Bo has been living with older lady bear Berit for three years in Henry Vilas Zoo, so she has taught him how to get along with a female roommate. Bo is young, so will probably not be dominant with Qannik, who is used to being a diva.

Qannik in her rocker toy, not long after she arrived in Louisville.

Baby Qannik with a crazy egg.

They do have some things in common. Bo always loved to swim in the pool at Henry Vilas, and Qannik is quite the water baby too. She really enjoys her underwater adventures in the deep dive pool at Glacier Run. So maybe they will have some fun together in the water. 

Qannik and one of her pickles. She has gone through quite a few.

The two potential sweethearts also like their toys. Qannik will have to learn to share her giant pickle. 

Qannik at her 13th birthday.

So now Louisville is about to get its own version of "The Bachelor." Here's hoping it is love at first sight for our two polar bear sweethearts.