Astra arrives

 

Astra at Como Zoo

Visitors to Como Zoo in St. Paul Minnesota can now see four polar bears cavorting, swimming, wrestling, wandering and sleeping, with the arrival of young Astra, who just came from the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma Washington.

Astra makes herself at home at Como in the big pool. 

Kulu, on my most recent visit in July.

Five year old female Astra is being paired with six year old male Kulu, so there is quite a bit of playing and splashing going on.

I sent my St. Paul daughter Corinna to take some photos at the Como Zoo and tell me about how things are going between Astra and Kulu. Most of these are her photos.

Kulu and Astra get acquainted

 Kulu and Astra have the right hand side of the habitat, which has the deeper pool, and the older pair Nan and Neil have the other side with the big meadow and shallower pool. The keepers will slowly introduce Astra to the older bears.

Old folks Nan and Neil on the left hand side enclosure.

Kulu and Astra are enjoying getting to know each other, poolside.

                                             Yes, Kulu really likes Astra.

The keepers say that Kulu and Astra get along well, which bodes well for future cubs from the pair. 

Astra gathering her stuff

All mine!

Astra has a lot of fun with this simple plastic bottle.

Astra with her water toys. She loves that bottle, but they also have a giant pickle. And she also enjoys the baby pools as toys.

 

Astra likes to throw toys into the water, and play with them all at once.

Twin sisters in 2021 in the Detroit Zoo,
Astra in back, Laerke close. There is a ditch between them

Astra was born as a twin in the Detroit Zoo but grew up as a single cub because her sister was failing shortly after birth and had to have special care by the keepers. Their parents are Suka, daughter of Crystal and the late Marty, and Nuka. After several years of seeing each other across a divide, the twins, Astra and Laerke, were finally reunited. 

They were sent together to the Point Defiance Zoo in the spring of 2023, where the girls had a lot of fun playing together and making up for lost time. Laerke is quite a bit smaller than her sister, probably because of medication used to save her life when she was a young cub. She won't mind being alone, since she is quite people oriented, as a hand raised cub. She did have a young grizzly bear cub companion, Jebbie, for quite awhile in the Detroit Zoo, until he grew t00 strong for her. 

Jebbie and Laerke in Detroit

Laerke was happy when her twin sister joined her in Detroit, giving their parents Nuka and Suka the other side of the habitat. The twosome made the move to Tacoma where they lived for a year and a half.

Then last month, Astra was moved to the Como Zoo, while Laerke stayed in Tacoma, at least for now.

On one of the days my daughter visited, Kulu mostly stayed
on shore while Astra ran all about, and swam in the pool. 

 

Kulu yawns.

Here Kulu retrieves a fish. 

A nice fish snack for Kulu

Miss Astra comes along and wants some fish, and
 Kulu lets her have his fish. He is a real gentleman. 

Kulu is the son of Aurora and Lee of the Columbus Zoo. He was born as a single cub on November 28, 2019. His grandparents on his mother's side are Crystal of the Toledo Zoo and the late Marty. His father Lee is the son of Yukon and a different Aurora, who was born in Rochester NY. Kulu's grandfather Yukon was born in the Cincinnati Zoo. 

Kulu's mother Aurora and Astra's mother Suka are sisters, so they are first cousins. But with the small number of polar bears in the US, there is little other choice. Almost all the younger bears are from the same family.

You can tell Astra from Kulu in that Kulu is much larger
 and has shorter fur. Astra is little and is quite fluffy. 

I hope to visit the four bears at Como soon. It's great to see the different generations sharing and interacting. 

Moving season for the bears

 Now that the summer is over, and weather is cooler, some of the planned moves for polar bears have taken place, or are coming right up.

Earlier this year, Haley moved from Memphis to the Detroit Zoo, where both she and Suka are currently denning up. Also in Detroit is Nuka, twin brother of Koda, whom Haley left behind in Memphis.

Haley

In August, almost 9 year old Amelia Gray, daughter of the late Anana and Nanuq in the Columbus Zoo, moved from the Oregon Zoo in Portland, where she lived with her sister/cousin Nora, to the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, where she joined Hudson and her Aunt Hope. Hudson is brother of Amelia Gray's late grandfather Marty of Toledo. With almost all the younger bears related to the Crystal-Marty family, the officials are trying their best to match up possible polar bear breeding couples.

Amelia Gray

An upcoming move will split up Crystal's twins Kallik and Kallu, born in Toledo almost three years ago and currently in St. Louis. Their father is Nuka of the Detroit Zoo. Kallik will moved to the Oregon Zoo, and current resident Nora will move to the Henry Villas Zoo to be with older lady Berit.  So Kallik will be alone at the Oregon Zoo and Kallu will also be alone at the St. Louis Zoo for the time being. 

Kallik and Kallu

Nora, who was born with a bone condition and was raised by her keepers, is the daughter of Aurora and the late Nunuq, born in Columbus almost 10 years ago. While living in Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City, she suffered a severe bone break, and had to have extensive surgery involving screws and other metal parts to stabilize her paw. She is totally recovered now, but may not be good breeding material due to her bone problem. Even so, She is moving to the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison Wisconsin where they plan to bring in a male for her at some time in future, in addition to Berit currently living there. The Henry Vilas Zoo plans to move the two grizzly bear sisters to another zoo so the polar bears will have two enclosures.

Nora in Salt Lake City

Twins Astra and Laerke, almost four years old and living at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma Washington, have been split up, with Astra going to Como Zoo in St. Paul, Minnesota, where there are currently three bears. Young Kulu, almost six years old, is to be Astra's mate. Since Astra's mother Suka and Kulu's mother Aurora are sisters, Astra and Kulu are first cousins.

 The other two Como bears, Nan and Neil, are elderly and quite beloved there, but will not always be around so Como Zoo is looking to the future with a new breeding pair. Laerke  and Astra were born at the Detroit Zoo, daughters of Suka and Nuka. Laerke was failing within a few days after birth, so was taken into the care of zookeepers, where she faced challenges. To give Laerke company, a grizzly bear cub named Jebbie was brought in to be her companion. Astra and Laerke were finally allowed to play together when they were about two years old, and were moved to the Point Defiance Zoo together. Soon Laerke will be alone again, but she did grow up for many months with just human company, so she should be comfortable with that.

Astra in Detroit

Cubs this year?

To speculate on who might be giving birth in the coming few months, I am hopeful about Aurora and Lee in Columbus, and Suka and Nuka in Detroit. Wildborn Qannik in Louisville is a long shot this year since she injured her paw just as her first breeding season started with her new companion Bo, but she is denned up anyway. Haley in Detroit may have been bred by Nuka's brother Koda in Memphis last spring before she moved, and she is denned up as well.

Luna and Sakari in Buffalo have had many years of trying, but this year may be different, for I hear they are doing something different in Buffalo.

Nikita and Neva in Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City are also a possibility.

Although the powers that be brought wildborn orphan Kali from St. Louis to Toledo to be mate to Crystal in hopes for more cubs from this champion mother, I doubt that will happen. Crystal will be 27 years old this fall, and as far as I know, the oldest mother to give birth was Uslada in St. Petersburg at age 26. I have not heard much news about Crystal and Kali being together during breeding season.

In Europe, so many of the bears have been split into boy groups and girl groups, to prevent overpopulation, just the opposite problem the US zoo are facing.

Malik nursing cubs Imaq and Inuk in Aalborg.

I am hopeful that my Rasputin and Malik in Aalborg  Denmark, will produce cubs this year. I am pinning my main hopes on this pair. Both have proven fertile.

In Hanover, we  have Sprinter and Milana (also Vera is there), so that might work. We also have Nuka's twin sister Qilak in Pairi Daiza, where there are twin brother Bely and Cery, although I don't know if they have been together. 

15 year old Qannik, daughter of Toledo Crystal's sister Blanche, is with Cora's son Nanuk in Zoo Sauvage in Belgium. 

European moves

In Europe, Anna and Elsa have left their mother Valeska in Bremerhaven's Zoo Am Meer, and have moved to Zoo Brno in the Czech Republic, where longtime resident Cora was already enjoying the new enclosure. Anna and Elsa are soon to be six years old. There is a trend in European zoos to form all girl groups, or all boy groups, since their breeding program has been so successful, and they do not want a surplus of cubs with no home to go to.

Last May, Anouk left her mother Victoria in Hamburg and moved to to a brand new polar bear home in  Lumigny Safari Resort just outside of Paris. Anouk will be three years old in December. Her father is the late Kap. In June 10 year old Nicky arrived from Zoo de Cerza, also in France, where she had been living with her twin sister Simone. Those twins are offspring of Frimas and Henk in Eindhoven Zoo in the Netherlands.

The loss of Hope

Young Hope at Marineland

We just received the terrible news of Hope's passing during a dental procedure at Jimmy's Farm and Wildlife Park. The daughter of Flocke and Raspi, she would have been 11 years old in November.

Flocke and Baby Hope in 2015

Flocke and Hope in 2015

Hope at 5 months in Marineland

Hope seemed to have lead a charmed life. She was a beloved new arrival at Marineland on the French Riviera when the famous Flocke gave birth back in 2014. Because Flocke was raised by her keepers, some doubted that she would have the mothering instinct, but Flocke turned out to be an exemplary mother.

Hope and Flocke in 2017

Hope  grew up adored by so many, and lived in a magical place. She even had a snow grotto, which she loved to roll around in with her mom Flocke. 

Flocke and Hope in the ice grotto

Dad Raspi was curious about his daughter and she was also interested in what Raspi was doing. It was a lovely family and there was always something fun going on.

Hope visits with Daddy Raspi

Flocke and Hope in 2017

Hope and Flocke in 2016

In 2018 Hope was three years old, and moved to Orsa Bear Park in Sweden, where she lived in a snowy wilderness with Eva and Wilbär. There she gave birth to twin boys in 2021, Nannok and Noori. 

Hope's father Raspi moved to Yorkshire Wildlife Park, then to Tallinn Estonia, and is now in Aalborg Denmark. After Raspi moved from YWP, Flocke and her triplets moved from Marineland to Doncaster to the same enclosure Raspi had occupied, far from the bachelor group. Sadly, Marineland eventually closed, but the bears had already moved.

Drama for Hope and the other polar bears in Orsa ensued when the Park was announced to be closing, and after some scrambling to find the bears a new home, Hope and her boys were sent to Peak Wildlife Park in the UK. Ewa moved to Jimmy's, and Wilbär moved to Ouwehands.

The boys Nannok and Noori stayed behind at Peak Wildlife Park when Hope moved to Jimmy's Farm and Wildlife Park last year, where Hope was reunited with her mother Flocke, and also her old friend Ewa. Hope met her younger sister Tala there too. The other two of Flocke's triplets, the boys Indie and Yuma, live in YWP in Doncaster.

Hope was a lovely bear. It was nice that she could be reunited with her mother and meet her sister. The family partly back together again. We will all miss sweet Hope.

Hope in Marineland

Kulu and the old folks home

 

Kulu on the left, Nan says hello on the right.

Young Kulu

The largest of three bears at the Como Zoo in St. Paul Minnesota, young Kulu, is 5 1/2 years old and weighs 1300 pounds. As polar bear keeper Allison says, he is now a young adult, with hormones surging through his body. His companions are up there in years. Nan, at 30, is the oldest polar bear in a US zoo. Neil, at 29, is the oldest male polar bear in the world.

Nan on rock, Neil center, and Kulu, right

It is like an old folks home that has had a teenager move in, as Allison says. While having a youngster around helps keep the oldsters on their toes, Kulu is learning adult bear behavior from Nan and Neil.

Kulu on rock, Nan below

Kulu was born as a single cub in the Columbus Zoo to Aurora and Lee on November 28, 2019.

Baby Kulu in Columbus with mom Aurora

Previously, Aurora had given birth to Nora and twins Nuniq and Neva. This is a first offspring for Lee. Aurora, daughter of Crystal and Marty, was born in the Toledo Zoo along with her twin sister Anana, who passed away several years ago. Lee is the son of another Aurora (born in Salt Lake City), and Yukon, who was born in the Cincinnati Zoo.

Kulu and his mom Aurora in Columbus

When baby Kulu reached a certain age, Aunt Anana was introduced and quickly became Kulu's favorite playmate, while mother Aurora took naps or watched. 

Kulu in center, with mom Aurora and Aunt Anana in Columbus

Kulu plays with his Auntie Anana in Columbus

In the fall of 2021, Kulu moved to Como Zoo, where Neil and Nan were waiting. They easily took over the role of doting adoptive grandparents, and Kulu especially enjoyed playing in the pool with Neil.

Neil and Kulu spar in the Como pool - in 2022.

Now that Neil is a few years older and slowing down, Kulu plays a lot more with Nan, who is half his size at 650 pounds, but she knows how to keep him in line. 

In 2025, Kulu begs Neil to come into the pool. But it is too hard
 for Neil to get in and out because of his arthritis, so he declines.

Nan is still the boss. After all, Kulu grew up being bossed around by the ladies, his mom Aurora and his Aunt Anana. 

Kulu and Nan

I visited a few months ago, and the three bears enjoyed frolicking in the wildflower meadow, playing games and even engaged in a bit of chasing. 

Nan, Kulu and Neil in the wildflowers  this summer

Old Neil rarely goes into the water these days, but that doesn't stop Kulu from begging the old guy to join him in the pool. 

Kulu and Nan have a little battle in the wildflowers

Nan doesn't mind being a swim buddy for Kulu, although there isn't a lot of playing. She does her best, though.

Kulu gives Nan a little "kiss" in the Como pool. 

Or maybe a little bite for Nan.

Kulu's older companions are family too. While wildborn Nan is unrelated, she did live for many years in the Toledo Zoo with Kulu's grandparents Crystal and Marty. Neil is brother of the late Icee, who was father of Kulu's grandfather Yukon who was born in the Cincinnati Zoo, so Neil is Kulu's great great uncle. 

Kulu on the left, Great Great Uncle Neil on the right.

Winter is coming in a few months and there will be plenty of snow and cold at Como Zoo. Kulu will celebrate his 6th birthday. Nan will be 31, and Neil will be 30. Yes, things will change as Nan and Neil get older, and someday will pass on, but for now, it is a great situation for a young polar bear boy. 

A lovely situation,
 Nan, Kulu and Neil all living happily together at Como Zoo.

Kulu is a busy boy, always up to something.