Kali has two girlfriends

Kali in Detroit

At almost 14 years of age, Kali is a lucky guy, with two girlfriends and living in the Detroit Zoo in one of the best polar bear habitats in the world. He spends his days napping, enjoying interesting snacks, wandering around the meadow in the tundra area, swimming through caves in the ice pack's saltwater pool, and watching his companions Suka and Haley swim and play nearby. 

Kali marches around the tundra area in Detroit Zoo 

He has gone through many years living alone up to this point, however. 

Kali looking rather solemn after being awoken from his nap

Kali profile

His story begins with a terrible tragedy. Kali was born in a snow den in the wilds of Alaska, near Point Lay on the Chuckchi Sea coast in the winter of 2012-13. His mother was larger than your normal female polar bear, so much so that a native Alaskan hunter mistook her for a male and shot her during a subsistence hunt. Upon examining the bear's body, the hunter realized that he had killed a nursing mother. The hunter knew there was at least one hungry cub out there, in desperate need of help and some good luck. The hunter followed the mother bear's tracks back to the den and found a tiny cub, tucked the baby into his coat, or maybe his backpack, giving him a ride to safety on his snowmobile. This was in March of 2013. 

Baby Kali in Buffalo

Kali's name comes from the native word for the village of Point Lay. 

Kali and Luna in Buffalo Zoo

Kali was turned over to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and taken to the Alaska Zoo, where he was bottle fed and cared for. The Alaska Zoo had done this before, for Qannik, who now lives in the Louisville Zoo. 

Kali standing tall in Buffalo Zoo

In May, the cub was flown to the Buffalo Zoo in New York State, where young Luna was being raised by the keepers after her mother Anana neglected and ignored her. Luna was exactly the same age as Kali, and could use a playmate as well as helping Kali develop his bear skills. Both mother Anana and father Nanuq had moved to other zoos long before Kali arrived. 

Little Kali, next to the zebras.

I visited Luna and Kali in the summer of 2013, and found the two youngsters wrestling and playing up a storm. Because the Buffalo Zoo had just started construction of new polar bear habitats on the spot of the old bear grottos, the little bears were given a fenced in area next to one of the buildings, where they had constant supervision, a shallow pool, a semblance of a forest, shade, room to play and lots of toys. And of course they had each other. 

Luna and Kali

While Kali spent much of his time playing with Luna or on his own, he also had to get over the trauma of losing his mother. He comforted himself by sucking on his paws, and humming  loudly like he had a little motor running, as cubs do when they nurse. 

Kali and Luna at play. They had such good times.

The cubs were the star attraction of the zoo, with lots of folks wanting to get a glimpse of this cute little odd couple. 

Baby Kali

Everything seemed to be going well for these two cubs, until they were moved to the tiger enclosure. Luna fell into the moat and broke her leg, so the two cubs were separated while Luna's leg healed.

Kali at play

The playmates did have some time together once again, but soon Kali was sent off to the St. Louis Zoo, which had just opened up its fantastic new polar bear habitat Polar Bear Point, in May of 2015, and needed an occupant. 

Kali in St. Louis, 2016.

He settled into his new home in St. Louis just fine, and was a popular guy with all the zoo visitors, but he was all alone. The Department of Fish and Wildlife had rules that allowed rescued cubs to be housed and cared for in zoos, but they were not to be allowed in the breeding programs, so Kali was not to have a companion. 

Kali loved the kids in St. Louis. This photo was from 2016,

Kali is a very sociable bear, and loved interacting with all the visitors in St. Louis. His people-oriented personality probably comes from being fed and raised by humans in the Alaska Zoo and then the Buffalo Zoo. Kali is still beloved in St. Louis. 

Kali on his favorite ledge,
where he liked to sit and watch his fans in St. Louis

Kali with his tire in St. Louis. 

Kali in 2017 in St. Louis

Because of various political pressures, and the fact that polar bear breeding in the US zoos was in great need of fresh genes, the ban on rescued polar bears breeding was lifted several years ago. Kali, and Qannik too, could now be part of the breeding program.

In an exchange, the 2 year old twin boy cubs Kallik and Kallu from Toledo were sent to St. Louis in early 2025, and Kali was sent to Toledo, in hopes that he would be a breeding partner for the twins' mother Crystal, even though she is probably too old for such a venture and Kali was not prepared to deal with a female and inexperienced, having been alone for so long. 

Crystal and her twin sons, Kallik and Kallu
on their second birthday in Toledo. 

In Toledo, it was not a love match. Crystal actively avoided Kali, and Kali did not know how to deal with this mature polar bear lady. 

The queen mother, Crystal.

By the start of the next breeding season, it was arranged that Nuka, the father of Crystal's last set of twins, would come back to Toledo from Detroit, and Kali would go to Detroit to try his luck with Suka and Haley, the ladies there. At least they knew Crystal could get along with Nuka. 

The handsome mature Kali in Detroit

In Detroit, Kali had to figure out how to impress these two females, and he had no idea. There was some breeding going on with both girls, but this was all new to Kali, and those watching what was going on expressed doubts that he was up to this new challenge. He was an inexperienced boyfriend, but he was trying. There may be cubs this year, however chances don't look good. Maybe we will be surprised. Kali has learned a lot about dealing with the ladies, and should do much better the next breeding season. 

Haley in front, Kali strolling away.

After breeding season, the girls pretty much avoided Kali, but things are getting better. Haley especially has been trying to socialize Kali. After all, he hasn't had much experience as an adult polar bear dealing with other polar bears. He has learned a lot in his first breeding season about courtship. And even this summer there have been times when all three, Kali and his two lady companions, have been seen playing together in the freshwater pool.

Kali is looking great. He weighs in at a magnificent 1500 pounds. His fur is thick and clean, and he walks around like he owns the place. He has gained a lot of confidence in the last year. Hopefully his wild genes will be passed on with successful breeding seasons to come.

Kali atop the underwater viewing tunnel

Haley, lower left, with her eye on Kali, in the viewing tunnel

I noticed a little bit of the Baby Kali mannerisms when I visited the Detroit Zoo. When he stood atop the tunnel, I saw that he moved one of his paws in the same waving way he did when he was a baby, in a comforting move. Very sweet. 

Kali repeatedly waves his paw while atop the viewing tunnel, which may be a reminder of a comforting movement from when he was a baby in Buffalo, when he was sucking on his paw. 

Kali's paws, as he stands on the viewing tunnel. 

Detroit Zoo's Arctic Ring of Life has two separate areas, Pack Ice and Tundra, which is a beautiful meadow.

Kali and his friends are living in one of the best polar bear zoo habitats in the world, The Arctic Ring of Life, a 4,2 acre park divided into the grassy hills of the Tundra with a 30,000 gallon freshwater pool, and the Pack Ice which offers a 300,000 gallon salt water pool dissected with a 70 foot underwater viewing tunnel for visitors. Currently, the bears have access to all the habitat, but it can be divided when needed, as when cubs are born. 

Adieu lovely Larissa

Larissa in Karlsruhe

                                                      Larissa

Larissa would have been 36 years old this December, most likely the oldest polar bear on the planet. The longtime companion of Vitus suffered from the plagues of old age, and died on July 10 in Neumünster Zoo in Germany. Larissa and Vitus lived together in Karlsruhe for 14 years before they moved together to Neumünster in 2017, where they enjoyed each others' company for nine more years.

                                     

                                       Vitus, Larissa and Nika in Karlsruhe

Larissa was born to Mien and Theo in Rotterdam Zoo on December 5, 1990. She moved to Paris when she was almost two years old, and then after about a year to der Wilhelma in  Stuttgart where she lived for ten years. She came to Karlsruhe in 2003 where three year old Vitus was already living. Rounding out the longtime trio was Nika, same age as Vitus. It was expected that this trio would restart the polar bear breeding reputation of Zoo Karlsruhe, but these three beautiful bears never did produce any cubs, and later it was found that Vitus could not father cubs. 

                                   Larissa on the left, Nika on the right

Larissa's mother Mien later gave birth in Rotterdam to a son named Taco, half brother of Larissa. Taco later became well known for his poor living conditions in Chile, which is not a suitable place for a polar bear. He passed away in Santiago at the age of 19. Larissa had no other relatives.  

 

Larissa on the left, Nika on the right, were close buddies.

Larissa and Nika had quite a strong bond of friendship, and sought to be near one another. When Larissa and Vitus retired to Neumünster in 2017, leaving Nika behind, it was probably hard on all three.

Vitus and his girls, Larissa and Nika

Nika, still in Karlsruhe, died in 2019 of a wound on her leg, a wound that would not heal. 

                      Nika on the left, while Larissa lounges on the right

Sometimes the three of them would chase each other around, play and pretend to fight.  

Now with Nika gone in 2019 and Larissa last week, it is just Vitus left of this happy trio. He is still in Neumünster, but all alone there, most likely swimming his laps as he loves to do. He will be 26 this winter.

Larissa as I last saw her in Neumünster, she was separated behind a barrier that day. 

              Nika top, and Larissa, hiding her nose in her cute paws.

    My friend Pim told me how to tell them apart, that Larissa looked older, was more round and fluffy than Nika, and had darker fur. 

                               The round fluffy lady Larissa 

A sad farewell to a sweet lady bear. The oldest polar bear in the world. 

Bear Switcheroo

 

Aurora on the polar bear side.

The Columbus Zoo, home to Aurora and Lee Polar Bears, and Brutus and Buckeye Alaskan Brown Bears, has two glorious bear habitats adjacent. This summer, the zoo is experimenting with switching out the polar bears and the brown bears for enrichment purposes, as this will give each pair a kind of "vacation" to visit an area unfamiliar and interesting.  So far they have switched the bears twice, each time for just a day, to give the bears a chance to experience how the other half lives, so to speak.

Brutus (or Buckeye) sleeping on the brown bear side.

Both spacious habitats kind of face each other, with a central visitors' center in between, and a wall at the end in common behind which are the "bedrooms" of the bears. It is fairly easy to route the bears to the opposite side and the unfamiliar enclosure, so that is what the staff has done on several occasion, with hopes to continue this fun activity for all four of the bears.

Lee rubbing his scent onto the wood, after the brown bears were there the day previous.

I was at the Columbus Zoo the day after the old switcheroo, so I saw how the polar bears reacted when they were back in their familiar territory after the "invaders" had left.

Lee makes sure the furniture smells like polar bears.

Lee was quite intent on making sure his scent was on various spots around the enclosure where the brown bears had rubbed their scent. 

Aurora rubbing her scent on a large log, where the brown bears had rubbed the day before.

Aurora rubs on the  logs around the enclosure, lending her scent
to the spots the brown bears had visited. 

Aurora, too, spent a lot of time rubbing on the rocks where the brown bears had marked. 

Brown bear napping in the brown bear area.

The brown bears, however, didn't seem to care as much as whether some other bears had rubbed their scent onto logs in their side the previous day. One of the bears was inside, sleeping, and the other was slumbering in the sun, not really caring who had been there the day before.

A view of the brown bear swimming area, a shallow pool, where Lee enjoyed showing off his skills.

I gathered that on the previous day, the day of the habitat exchange, the polar bears were quite curious, smelling everything, investigating the new area. They were a great deal more active than usual. The large fish in the brown bear area had been removed to save them from being eaten by the polar bears. Lee liked swimming in the brown bear pool, which has a different orientation, not below the visitors but right in front of them, and Lee liked exhibiting his swimming skills with this new exposure, standing up for the guests even, in the shallow pool, batting around a red ball. 

The brown bears, on the other hand, enjoyed visiting the deeper pool on the polar bear side, and were quite playful, in spite of their 22 years. Usually, the brown bears are pretty quiet, but on the day of the exchange, they couldn't get enough of playing. Maybe that is why they were so quiet the next day, exhausted from all the frolicking.

Aurora in the pool, with the misting machine wafting cooling water drops over her. 

Aurora un-misted.

Aurora at her own pool,
with a crystal clear reflection. 

Lee was tired on the day after the exchange, and spent a great deal of his time napping, but taking a break to roll around on the grass, making sure it all smelled like polar bears again. 

Lee rolling his scent onto the grass

Also itching some spots.

Rolling in the grass feels so good. 

Aurora found her own sort of play, with cardboard boxes. She has figured out how to juggle the smashed pieces. 

Aurora noses the pieces of cardboard

Tossing the cardboard into the air

Making sure the cardboard smells like polar bear

More juggling with the paws

Aurora inspects the pickle, which had been put away the day before so the grizzly bears couldn't get to it. 

The grizzly bear brothers are very destructive, so all polar bear toys like the pickles had to be hidden away from the visitors. There is a display of the damage that Brutus and Buckeye did to the heavy duty window frame in their exhibit when they were younger.

What is left of the window frame from Brutus and Buckeyes' enclosure when the cubs first moved in.

On the day I visited, Lee did not swim and did not interact with Aurora, but Aurora enjoyed the pool quite a bit. 

 

Aurora poses for a picture.

Aurora lazing in the pool 

Aurora has a young fan.

Aurora and her late twin sister Anana were born in Toledo to Crystal (born in Belgium) and Marty(born in Brookfield) in 2006, so Aurora is 19 years old. She is the mother of four cubs: Nora, Nuniq, Neva and Kulu.

Lee and his twin sister Anana were born in Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester NY in 1999 to Aurora, born in Hogle Zoo and Yukon, born in the Cincinnati Zoo. He is 26 years old. Lee is the father of Aurora's son Kulu. 

Alaskan Brown Bears Brutus and Buckeye were orphaned in the wilds of Alaska and rescued in 2004 at just a couple of months old. They have spent almost their entire lives at the Columbus Zoo.   

Aurora climbed the big perching rock over the pool and took a nap. 

Rotating enclosures is employed at several other zoos. Brookfield Zoo in Chicago has three bear enclosures, and up until recently when they lost their brown bears, the polar bears and brown bears could be seen in any of the three habitats.

The Henry Vilas Zoo has two bear habitats, and when the grizzly sisters were hibernating, the polar bears were allowed to explore the neighboring habitat. 

The Louisville Zoo, where Lee lived for several years, has a bear habitat designed for rotating polar and brown bears, so Lee knows how this goes. Currently, grizzly bear Otis rotates with polar bears Qannik and Bo, between the big meadow area with the deep pool, and the smaller polar bear alley with a truck to climb into, stairs for exercise, pools of ice and piles of hay, across the way. 

Giving the animals a change of scene, with different layout, play opportunities and interesting scents, is a great form of enrichment.  

Lee in Polar Bear Alley in Louisville.