Happy 12th Birthday to Qannik

 Once upon a time there was a little rescued polar bear named Qannik, who lived in the Louisville Zoo.

Qannik shortly after she arrived in Louisville in 2011.

Little Qannik back in mid-2011 in Louisville.

Well, that rescued little polar bear cub is now 12 years old, and weighs 550 pounds. She is very firm in her likes and dislikes. Does not want fish, but loves pumpkin. Loves to swim and hide things in her special hidey hole. Would rather sit in a window with her fans than do anything else.

The Louisville Zoo held their annual Qannik Birthday Party on Saturday, January 7, with lots of fans and well-wishers there to sing to the birthday girl. 

Keepers prop up the number 12 with some Christmas trees
for Qannik's celebration.

The keepers had prepared some ice bombes with pumpkin chunks and apple slices. They hid more pumpkin chunks in Christmas trees and decorated tissue boxes. They set out a lovely buffet for the birthday girl, and then they opened the door so she could descend the magical ramp and make a grand entrance like the Princess she is.

Qannik enters the "Party Zone"

                                  Quite the sweet buffet for the birthday girl.

Checking out the party buffet.

Qannik nods to her guests as they sing Happy Birthday to her.

Wow! Twelve years already!

Oh, some nice ice chunks!

Where to start?

Qannik wonders where the bartender might be.

The birthday girl can just help herself.

                                                                Blue or Pink?

                         Apples and Pumpkin chunks, yummy.

Crunch!

Looking for more...

Hey, I found another one.

By now, everyone knows the story of Qannik, the little rescued polar bear. She and her mother and sister were first noticed in the oil fields of the North Slope in January of 2011. Mother was collared and the cubs were given ear tags. The family was followed through the radio collar for a time, until it fell off the mom. In April, Qannik was found alone and starving, weighing just 15 pounds, probably separated from her mom and sister by a storm. No one really knows. 

Qannik was taken to the Alaska Zoo, where she was bottle-fed and pampered and recovered nicely from her ordeal. In late June, she was flown to the Louisville Zoo, where she was raised by loving keepers. 

And there she has lived in Louisville ever since. She has a deep diving pool where she has a lot of fun, and many toys, always something to do. There is another polar bear, an older male named Lee, and three grizzly bears, but while Qannik sees and smells them in the bedroom area, she is never with them.

Qannik still has the hole in her ear from the ear tag. Because she is property of Fish and Wildlife, she cannot be part of the breeding program, which is just fine with her because she likes being alone and the center of attention. She often sits by her window as her adoring fans admire her.

     An excellent 12th birthday party for Qannik, here resting 

                   in the overhead passage of Glacier Run.

Happy Birthday Qannik.

You have grown into a beautiful lady bear.

Qannik celebrates her 11th birthday!

 

 Qannik munches on some pumpkin ice at her party

Ever since Qannik's arrival as a tiny cub back in 2011, the Louisville Zoo has celebrated her birthday on a selected Saturday in January with a gathering of fans and some treats for the Ice Princess. Her actual birthday is unknown, but is January 10 has been designated as her day.

This year, the party to celebrate her 11th birthday was held on January 22, under a bright clear blue sky. Yes, it was cold, but of course Qannik didn't mind a bit.

One of the keepers arranges the "11" for Qannik's 11'th birthday.
Qannik has always liked pink.

The keepers opened the big gate to wheel in the birthday treats and gifts, while Qannik paced in the bridge overhead, impatiently watching the preparations.

Across the way, Lee yawns lazily, not invited to the party.

Lee with his Christmas tree, knocked over, of course.

Across the way, older male bear Lee relaxed in the alley room, mostly napping. He was still celebrating Christmas, with a tree there for him to play with.

Lee thinks: "She gets a giant pickle, and all I got was this stick of wood."

Photography was difficult, what with harsh shadows, reflections, glare from smudges on the glass made by Qannik earlier that morning, the crowds, and fogged up glasses and viewfinder.

Qannik enters the party scene.

Still, it was a great day. Everyone looked up towards Qannik on the bridge and sang Happy Birthday. When the gate was  open, Qannik rushed down the ramp to see the party favors. 

Little cardboard Qannik

A cute cardboard polar bear was quickly inspected and knocked over.

She knocks it over, of course.

Of greatest interest were the orange and green ice treats, made with pumpkin (her favorite) and colored with koolaid. She would throw them up in the air, so they would break apart when they crashed down. She's very smart.

Qannik tackles one of the ice treats.

Meat chunks were laid down in front of her birthday sign, but the birds got there first, while Qannik was occupied with the pumpkin flavored ice chunks.

A grand party scene.

Her main gift was a new giant pickle. Her old pickle was worn out, destroyed by the grizzlies. 

Qannik paid attention to the pickle for about five seconds,
then knocked it into the water.

The crowd drifted away, and Qannik was left alone to enjoy the pumpkin ice. She knocked her new pickle into the water, then went back to her snacking.

Qannik climbs the ramp to the bridge.

Then she decided to go visiting, climbing the ramp to take the bridge over to where Lee was spending the day. A door separates them, but they are still friends. Lee was at the top of the stairs, sniffing at the girl on the other side.

Polar Bear Alley neighbors:
Qannik on the bridge, to the left,
Lee on the stairs, to the right.

Lee on the stairway in Polar Bear Alley.

This little lost bear cub, found wandering alone in the oilfields of Alaska in late April of 2011and weighing just 15 pounds, has come a long way. After a couple of months in the Alaska Zoo, Qannik was flown by UPS to the Louisville Zoo, where she was given everything she needed to grow up happy and healthy.

Visitors can still see Qannik's transport box on display,
used back in 2011 during "Operation Snowflake"
 as the rescue mission was named.

 

Qannik is doing just fine, now weighing about 550 pounds.

Qannik

Donuts for the Birthday Girl - Qannik!

Qannik gobbles up some frozen treats
 on her birthday at the Louisville Zoo

Wildborn Qannik's exact birthday is a mystery, but January 10 was a good guess. Somewhere in the wilds of Alaska, her twin sister is also turning 10, if she survived. Back in 2011, the mother bear and her twin daughters were tagged, and Qannik still has a good sized hole in her ear from those early days.

The hole in her ear, where Qannik was tagged as a cub,
 can still be seen

Since the arrival of Qannik at Louisville Zoo, the Ice Princess has enjoyed some wonderful birthday parties. For this year's party, held on January 9, the keepers went with a fun Donut theme. 

Qannik and her reflection in the big pool at Glacier Run

Ten years ago Qannik and her twin sister were born to a wild mother bear in an oilfield in the North Slope in Northern Alaska. Sometime in late Spring, the bear family was caught in a terrible snowstorm. Qannik was separated from her family and was on her own for some time. She was found weighing only 13 pounds, and taken to the Alaska Zoo to regain her strength. 

Qannik sit in front of her favorite window and delights her fans,
as she waits for her party to start at Glacier Run

With the widespread publication of adorable baby photos by zoo photographer John Gomes, Qannik became an internet sensation. The international polar bear community had been devastated by the tragic death of Knut in the Berlin Zoo in March of 2011,  and everyone was cheered by news of the miraculous rescue of this little cub in the wilds of Alaska. In late June of 2011, she was flown to her new home in Glacier Run in the Louisville Zoo.  It took quite awhile before she could meet her public. The windows of the smaller enclosure were covered with paper, so she could get used to the space in private. They removed bits of the paper, a little at a time. I finally was able to visit her in September, and some of the windows were still covered.

Baby Qannik in September of 2011 at Glacier Run.
She loved rocking in this barrel toy.

On January 9, just before her party, Qannik roams the overhead crossing,
 while her keepers set up her donut party by the big pool.

There was a lot of press coverage of Qannik's party.
  Very few members of the public were present, as they hadn't really told anyone.  Everyone was wearing a mask.
We all sang Happy Birthday to Qannik.

One of the keepers spreads peanut butter onto a block,
 which would hold the paper birthday sign.

A new giant pickle and a jolly ball were Qannik's birthday gifts.
 The grizzly bears had destroyed her old pickle from an earlier birthday.

The door was opened,
 and Qannik ran down the ramp to discover all her birthday surprises.

Qannik snacks on a piece of pumpkin

Enjoying the party

How do you eat these ice pops? 

She discovers the marshmallows

MMM, yummy marshmallows

Colored cardboard pieces were glued on with peanut butter,
 so Qannik eats those too. All the colors were safe to eat, and it is fine for a polar bear to eat a little cardboard, the keepers told me.
 This one is flavored with blueberry

The cardboard donuts on the tree had peanut butter too,
 but here she goes for a bigger donut on the ramp.

                                                               Where did it go?

More paper donuts and apple slices on the tree.

Whoops! She knocked the tree down.

                                 Qannik always enjoys her young visitors. 

Happy Birthday, Qannik. Don't let the Grizzly Bears near your new pickle!

A note on Lee:

Qannik has always been on her own. The grizzly bear family, Otis, Rita and Inga, were at Glacier Run when Qannik arrived, and rotate through the two enclosures, and the downstairs bedrooms. Old lady bear Arki, grandmother of Siku, was already in Glacier Run with Qannik arrived. She passed away in 2013. Young Siku, a 2 year old male at the time, arrived shortly after Qannik in the fall of 2011, but the two were never together, and he moved to Lincoln Park Zoo in 2016. 

11 year old Lee, a big male bear, came to Louisville in late summer, early September of 2020, as I remember, but his presence was not announced to the public until recently, and he still not on exhibit. I was told he is  being treated for allergies, but will be out soon. However, he will also be kept separate from Qannik, as she is property of Fish and Wildlife, and is not allowed to be part of the zoo breeding program.. 

Lee is the father of 1 year old Kulu of the Columbus Zoo, and is one of only three male bears in US zoos who have proven fertility, Marty and Nuka being the other two. So I suspect Lee is in Louisville because they needed the space in Columbus in case Anana had a cub. We have heard no cub news, so Lee may indeed return to Columbus, or go somewhere else as part of the breeding program. Just my speculation.

Because the three grizzly bears (now separated) and Qannik are rotated through the two public enclosures at Glacier Run, with the keepers usually changing them in the middle of the day, you can never be sure of seeing Qannik. Her birthday is the one day of the year you can be certain she will be out with her public at the Louisville Zoo.