Qannik has grown into a water lover |
Qannik in her early days at the Louisville Zoo |
Little Qannik not long after her arrival at the Louisville Zoo. |
Qannik was hand raised, first at the Alaska Zoo and later at the Louisville Zoo. |
After several months recovering and gaining weight at the Alaska Zoo, she was flown to the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky, where she still lives and swims and plays.
Qannik this summer. She has slimmed down quite a bit |
Qannik has come a long way from the little fluffball I first visited in the early fall of 2011. Now she is a sleek young lady bear of seven and a half years old.
Qannik this summer |
Since her friend Siku left for Chicago, Qannik has been the only polar bear in Louisville, but she shares the habitat, alternating with a family of grizzly bears.
Qannik comes up the steps from the moat |
Young Siku at the ramp at Glacier Run in 2013 |
Qannik loves those hunks of wood. They float! |
The Louisville Zoo is a pioneer in rotating habitats as a way of adding enrichment and excitement for the animal residents.
Qannik peers into the hidey hole in her underwater playground. She left a treasure in there, apparently. |
Investigating the contents of the secret hiding place... |
For a time, Qannik was slowing down, having put on maybe a little too much weight. She was sleeping more and playing less. But now she has slimmed down and has plenty of energy to swim.
A piece of driftwood, just right for hiding in the secret hole. If she doesn't get it jammed in just right, it will float up again. |
She loves her drifwood. |
Big enough to play with, but too big to hide. |
Glacier Run is designed to give the bears plenty of climbing opportunities. There are stairs and ramps so the bears keep those back leg muscles strong.
Qannik peeks up to see if her keepers have some treats to throw down. |
The big pool is especially great for visitors, with a huge window for prime underwater viewing, and many side windows around the enclosure.
Diving after her prize driftwood. |
The underwater viewing area at Glacier Run gives a fantastic view of Qannik's underwater adventures. |
Churning up the bubbles. |
Face to face, underwater. |
Qannik plays with the underside of an artificial iceberg. She has soooo many toys. |
Qannik views her visitors. |
Blowing bubbles |
Qannik looks cute and fluffy, but here you can see the size of her polar bear teeth. |
Pacing a bit |
A bit of a neck twist, as Qannik turns in her pacing routine. |
Qannik on the move |
Later on Qannik was inside in Polar Bear Alley, and mostly napping.
Qannik stretching |
Qannik is given a variety of bedding materials, with different textures and scents, for enrichment. |
Qannik |
Qannik posing for the paparazzi. |
Qannik lounging around |
Qannik close up. One of her ears still has the hole from being tagged when she was a tiny cub. |
Qannik stretches some more. |
Qannik smiles |
Qannik did such a lot to help us when Knut was lost. She is wonderful bear and I have kept copies of her tweets, which are a model for other tweeters, (no names of course)
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