Saturday, October 26, 2013

Siku and Qannik in Autumn



Siku in Bear Alley


Young Siku down at the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky now weighs in at 640 pounds! His little polar bear girlfriend, Qannik, weighs just 400 pounds. They are good friends from afar, but are still not ready to be in the same enclosure. Siku will be four years old on December 3. Qannik will be three years old this winter.


Der junge Eisbär Siku im Louisville Zoo wiegt nun inzwischen 640 Pfund ! Seine kleine Eisbärfreundin Quannik dagegen nur 400 Pfund. Aus der Ferne sind sie schon gute Freunde, sind aber noch nicht bereit,sich im gleichen Eisbärgehege aufzuhalten. Siku wird am 3.Dezember 4 Jahre alt, Quannik wird in diesem Winter 3 Jahre alt.


Lot of stair climbing in Bear Alley keeps the legs strong.


Siku finds a sardine

Siku thinks a bucket of ice is fun

Siku is Looking for more snacks

A pizza box full of peanut butter makes a great snack for Siku
The Louisville Zoo rotates the Polar Bears and the Grizzly bears through the same enclosures. This time, I saw Siku in Bear Alley. It is very hard to take photos on a sunny day. The glass has a lot of glare.

Die Eisbären sowie die Grizzlybären gehen jeweils durch die Bären Allee, immer im Wechsel. Diesmal haben ich Siku in der Bärenallee gesehen. Es ist schwierig, an so einem sonnigen Tag Fotos zu machen, weil die Glasscheiben in diesem Gang sehr stark spiegeln.

So much glass, so much reflection.
 It isn't easy to get a good picture in Bear Alley.
I like this picture, in spite of the glare.

Siku checks it out
Siku is looking for toys in the truck
Here they are, says Siku. Lots of toys

Enjoying the peanutbutter cardboard box

Siku is a big boy now

Siku finds a little pile of dog food. 
Or is it polar bear chow?




Qannik spent time in the big pool enclosure, where she spent most of her time swimming and diving. She has found that a big log is a lot of fun to play with.

Qannik verbrachte einige Zeit in der überdachten Schwimmanlage mit Schwimmen und Tauchen. Sie hat entdeckt,daß ein großer Holzbalken großartig ist zum Spielen.


Qannik admires the Halloween decorations at Glacier Run

Qannik is swimming with a stick

Qannik says hello to her visitors

The big pool is Qannik's favorite place

Qannik likes the big heavy log to play with in the pool



Qannik
The Louisville Zoo is decked out for Halloween with plenty of pumpkins, plus witches and monsters. After Halloween, the pumpkins will turn into smashing toys for many of the animals, including Qannik and Siku.

Für Halloween wird der Louisville Zoo mit reichlich Kürbis, Hexen und Monster geschmückt. Nach Halloween werden die Kürbisse zerteilt , an viele Tiere zum Spielen und Fressen verteilt, so auch für Qannik und Siku.

Halloween Jellyfish fly through the air
 as you leave Glacier Run at the Louisville Zoo



3 comments:

  1. Dear MOLLY - You are so good to us to bring us news and pictures of sweet QANNIK and beautiful SIKU (both Louisville Zoo) to us once in a while. . . . I am very happy to see QUANIIK is still a lovely polar bear girl who knows to entertain herself and to be happy. . . For SIKU I am not so sure whether he is happy but at least one can see him now from time to time. . . . Do you know why the two bears are still not introduced to each other? . . . Thank you very much for all the nice photos of the two lovelies.

    The lampions around "QANNIK on the bridge" and the jellyfish-decoration at the entrance-area of the zoo give a cheerful sight.

    Wishing "Happy THANKSGIVING" and "Happy HALLOWEEN" not only to the bears, their keepers and their visitors but also to you personally and to your lovelies . . :-)

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  2. Dear Dumba,
    The Louisville Zoo is decorated for Halloween to the extreme, much more than I showed in my photos. It is the most wonderful fantasy for the children at this time of year, much more so than other zoos.
    I do think Siku is happy, I have seen him swimming in the big pool, although Qannik is more of a water baby. Siku and Qannik know each other very well, says Jane Anne, the head keeper, seeing each other but not in the same cage or enclosure. They are very cautious at the Louisville Zoo, and they say that Qannik isn't ready to share yet. Like you, I think the two are ready, but the keepers know their bears better than I do.
    Happy Holidays to all my friends in Germany too, and also to the bears there that I have come to know and love.
    Molly

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    Replies
    1. Dear Dumba,
      I know there have been cubs of different ages put together, but I also think it is different to introduce an older boy and a younger girl. Bill was younger than Lara, and they got along great. Wolodja was younger than Tonja, and that was fine. Raspi and Flocke were the same age. But maybe when the female is younger, and the boy is older, it is better to wait. Siku is a very big boy. I am sure it will happen someday, but we will just have to wait.
      Molly

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