![]() |
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)
ReplyDelete