Happy Mother's Day to Crystal, Gerda and Victoria

 Of course all polar bear mothers deserve appreciation, especially on Mother's Day. But this story will focus on the new moms who gave birth last November and December, even though we didn't hear about Victoria's secret surprise until just a few weeks ago. 

Kallu and Kallik  - photo by the Toledo Zoo.

Crystal

In December news came of  the birth of twins in the Toledo Zoo, to veteran mother Crystal and her companion Nuka. The cubs were born on November 11, but kept secret for a few weeks, announced on December 1. For a time, it seemed like those might be the only cubs born worldwide in a zoo this year.  And there was a public dencam so we could watch the babies grow. Interestingly enough, one of the cubs was much larger than the other.

We later learned that the twins are boys, given the names Kallik and Kallu (Thunder and Lightning). Little Kallik has recently caught up and now is almost as big as his brother. It has been observed that the little one has grown into the bolder and braver brother, the first to take to the pool inside, and willing to wander away from mother for longer periods. Kallu, the bigger brother, was quite hesitant to step into the kiddie pool, and his little brother kept trying to persuade him, maybe even giving him a little push sometimes. Now, both brothers seem comfortable in the water.

The Toledo Twins were make their public debut on Friday, April 28, and everyone was so excited. However, when the big day came, the boys were intimidated by the bigger space outside, and wanted to play with their toys in the familiar areas of the dig yard and inside pool room. The interior dencam was turned back on, so the fans could see that the cubs were fine. Their public debut was rescheduled for the following Friday, May 5, and this time the cubs were ready and raring to go.

Crystal and her cubs - Photo by the Toledo Zoo.

Crystal is already the mother of twins Aurora and the late Anana, son Siku, twins Suka and Sakari, daughter Hope and son Borealis, all with the late Marty as the father. Crystal is also the grandmother of seven cubs.

Crystal with her cubs in the den, dencam photo

The father of Kallik and Kallu is Nuka, who is also the father of 2 year old twin girls in Detroit, with the mother being Crystal's grown daughter Suka. Papa Nuka is now back in Detroit.

Nuka (my photo)

For several months, we all thought that Crystal's twins might be the only cubs born in a zoo worldwide. But there were two other mothers who were denned up with little ones after having secretly given birth in December. 

Gerda and her daughters. (photo by оксана калинина)

Gerda

In early February, we learned that Gerda in Novosibirsk in Siberia, Russia had given birth to twins on December 16. These cubs made their public debut in the middle of March, with much snow still on the ground. We have learned that these twins are girls, but no names have been announced yet. There is a naming contest. The father is Kraisin,  better known to his friends as Kai.

Gerda is an experienced mother, having raised Shilka (who now lives in Japan), Rostik (who was sent to China), and twins Shauna and Nordi, a girl and a boy, who are now about four years old and living somewhere behind the scenes in the Novosibirsk Zoo. Gerda is a grandmother, since Shilka has a two year old daughter Ho-chan.

Gerda was born in Moscow in 2007 to Simona and Wrangel. She is sister to Vera, mother of the famous Flocke, Gerda's grandmother was Uslada of St. Petersburg, who was the mother of 16 cubs so there are many cousins throughout Europe and Russia.

Victoria's cub - Photo by Hagenbeck Zoo

Victoria

Because the European polar bear breeding program has been a little too successful, and there is a shortage of suitable zoo homes, there has been a halt to breeding, with many of the bears moved to all girl or all boy groups. So we expected there would be no cubs in Europe this season.

But at the very end of April, we had a surprise. Victoria and Kap of Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg Germany produced a mysterious secret cub born December 19. This cub still has no name, we don't know if it is a boy or girl yet, and the cub is still not in the public eye.

Victoria in 2014 (with Blizzard)

At 20 years of age, Victoria is an older lady who had never given birth up until now, so of course everyone thought that a cub was out of the question. Older lady bears can become mothers, of course, but almost always they have had cubs before. Victoria had been for many years with Blizzard, who was later found to be sterile. Then Kap arrived in the spring of 2020, but still no cubs, until now. This is a first cub for Kap too, who has spent much of his life alone in Neumünster, then a short time in Karlsruhe, where I finally met him. Kap is half brother of Raspi, and several other bears. 

Kap when I visited him in Karlsruhe in 2017

Victoria's genes are especially valuable since she isn't related to other bears. Her mother Fanny gave birth to Victoria in Hagenbeck, and Victoria lived there most of her life except for a short stay in Zoo am Meer in Bremerhaven, while the zoo was building the new walrus-polar bear-penguin complex.

Fanny did have another cub, Victoria's older brother named Charly, who lived out his life in SeaWorld San Diego, and died in 2012. 

Victoria is the product of several generations of inbreeding, as zoos were not so careful in those days. One again, it is a miracle that she had this cub.

European polar bear cubs usually start appearing in public in mid-March. So why is the Hagenbeck cub still behind the scenes? My theory is that the enclosure, while fairly new, was not designed with young cubs in mind, being rocky and sort of steep. There is limited space for visitors who want to see the bears. The complex, made for polar bears, penguins and walruses, gave much more emphasis to the walruses, and most polar bear fans are disappointed in the new enclosure.

Mother Victoria and the keepers may be waiting for the cub to mature a bit more before letting it wander around the rocky habitat. There seems to be a pool accessible to the cub at the top, for there is a video with the cub swimming in the background, and I believe there is a flat area up there, but it is out of sight from visitors. The cub is about five months old, so hopefully he or she will make a public debut before too long, and we will learn a bit more.

The Hagenbeck polar bear enclosure. - my photo

Happy Mother's Day to all the polar bear mothers. I hope to visit Crystal and her little family one day very soon, and maybe make a trip to Hamburg to see Victoria and her offspring too.

The beloved polar bears we lost in 2019

Fanny (Bam Bam)

We said goodbye to some very special bears this past year. Each one is unique, and a great loss.

Nord - age 17

Nord and his twin brother Felix were b0rn November 24, 2001 in Vienna, to Olga and Eric.

Nord died early in the year,  on January 8, 2019 in Tallinn, Estonia. He had been treated for over a year for a behavioral problem that led to an ulcer on his foot, and his condition had deteriorated. 

Nord and Felix's father was Eric, and their mother was Olga, mother of Olinka. For a period of a couple of months, back in 2001-02, there were four cubs in Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienna, newborn cubs Nord and Felix, and one year old twins Nika and Lloyd, all with the same father, and the mothers were mother and daughter.

Nord lived in Novosibirsk Russia for five years, then Moscow. He came to Tallinn in 2009

Nord was the father of Nora born in 2013, now in Vienna and a new mother.

Nord's son Aron was born in 2016 and the cub is still in Tallinn with his mother Frida. 

Nord's favorite drink was kefir, a yogurt drink. 

His twin brother Felix, father of Flocke, Milak, Gregor and Aleut and Charlotte, now lives in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands.

Bam Bam (Fanny) - age 31

Fanny with my mother, at the Omaha Zoo

The last of the six Olaf and Olga offspring from the zoo in Omaha, Bam Bam died  on February 20.

Bam Bam and her twin sister Patches were born November 29, 1987. For 20 years, Patches and Bam Bam happily lived together in the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, where they were born. They were separated in 2007, when Patches was moved to a much poorer enclosure in Erie Pa, for breeding purposes. Patches may have become pregnant, but no cubs ever survived. In 2013 Patches was moved to a much better environment, a new enclosure in the North Carolina Zoo, where she seemed to thrive, but died a year after moving in. That was five years ago.

Bam Bam, given that nickname because she liked to bang on the door to alert her keepers, was moved, not far from where she was born, to the Kansas City Zoo in the spring of 2018. At the time, the Henry Doorly Zoo was completely redesigning Bear Canyon, and all the residents had to move elsewhere. Bam Bam said goodbye to the only home she had ever known and moved in with her great niece Berlin, who was about the same age as Bam Bam. Berlin is the granddaughter of Bam Bam's brother Shep. The Kansas City Zoo enclosure is huge and grassy and a lovely environment for polar bears.

Bam Bam enjoyed her fine new home, and got along well with Berlin, but died at the age of 31 after developing liver cancer.

Bam Bam enjoying her favorite treat 

Bam Bam really loved her celery. Her keepers would throw a variety of fruits and vegetables into the pool, and she would always go for the celery first. She loved peanut butter too. 

She was very interactive with her fans, and would swim back and forth in front of the glass so she could study them.

Olaf and Olga were the first polar bears I ever saw. I was happy to bring my mother to meet Bam Bam, one of their cubs. Bam Bam was very gracious to my mom, and paid her a great deal of attention.



Nuuk-Nordman - age 25

Nuuk - also called Nordman

Nuuk - Nordman died in March at Skandanavisk Dyrepark in Kolind Denmark at the age of 25 years. 

He and his twin sister Ilka were born on December 2, 1993 in  Kolmarden Zoo in Sweden. He was given the name Nordman. 

While in Sweden, he met a young wildborn bear named Huggies, and he fathered a cub with her in 2001. Huggies and the cub Freedom moved to the Netherlands shortly thereafter. Ilka and Nordman stayed in Kolmarden until January of 2006 when they moved to the newly opened Skandanavisk Dyrepark. The zoo in Kolmarden had decided to not keep polar bears anymore, and there was a brand new zoo waiting for them. In Denmark, he was renamed Nuuk. At the same time, a 4 year old cub bear named Nanok also moved to the new Skandanavisk Dyrepark, which had room for many bears. Nuuk and Nanok became inseparable, except during breeding season when Nanok spent all his time with Nuuk's sister Ilka, which produced some cubs. 

Nuuk and Nanok

Skandanavisk Dyrepark with room to roam

Nuuk and Ilka's mother CW was twin sister to Elvis, father of the famous Tips and Taps hybrid bears in Osnabruck. Elvis and CW were born in Memphis Tennessee. Nuuk and Ilka's grandfather Bruno (in Memphis) was also the grandfather of Cincinnati's Anana, and twins Kiska and Kolluk of Albuquerque.

Nuuk and Ilka's father Imarac was half brother to Churchill, Kara, Lisa, and Mirsha, so they were first cousins of Boris of Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Knut's father Lars, and many other polar bears of Europe.

Nuuk and Ilka were also younger siblings of the late Manasse of Finland, and the late Yukihime, and Baffin of Japan

Nuuk leaves a legacy of descendants. He fathered one cub, Freedom, with Huggies. Like her mother, Freedom is a prolific mother. She has recently given birth to another set of twins in Ouwehands, the Netherlands. She is also the mother of new father Sprinter, twins Taiko and Sesi of France, and twins Sura of Ouwehands and Akiak of Rostock. 

Nuuk passed away peacefully in his sleep. I am sure his good friend Nanok misses him greatly.


Bora - almost 33 years old

Born in Vienna, Bora spent ten years in Dvůr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic, but most of her life in Prague.  She had one cub, Berta, who still lives in Prague with her mate Tom.


Nika - age 19

Nika

Nika died on her 19th birthday in Zoo Karlsruhe in Germany, gone much too soon, much too young. 

She and her twin brother Lloyd were born November 26, 2000, in Vienna to Olinka and Eric. 

Nika came to Karlsruhe in early 2002 when she was little more than a year of age. Both Nika and Lloyd left Vienna shortly after Olinka's mother Olga gave birth to another set of twins, Nord and Felix, in the same zoo with same father, Eric. 

While Lloyd went to the new Zoo Am Meer in Bremerhaven, Nika came to the brand new polar bear habitat in Zoo Karlsruhe, along with two young males, one year old Vitus from Rostock and one year old Kap from Moscow. A year later, ten year old Larissa came from nearby Stuttgart.

Kap left for Neumünster several years later, but the other three stayed in Karlsruhe, and Nika grew up with Vitus. The  three bears got along well, wrestling, chasing each other, and playing games in the large habitat.

Nika, Vitus and Larissa having fun

 Nika and Larissa were very close, and often took naps near each other.

Nika and a sleeping Larissa

There were hopes every year that Nika would have cubs, but it never happened, and several years ago, tests showed that Vitus was sterile. So Vitus and Larissa moved to Neumünster, and Kap came back to Karlsruhe in the spring of 2017.

Again, there were hopes that Nika would produced cubs, this time with Kap, but along they got along well, it just didn't happen, and now she is gone, all too soon.

Nika had been troubled for several years by ulcers on her back leg. She kept worrying at it, chewing on it. The vets tried everything, even put some blue substance on it to keep her from chewing. Her condition deteriorated suddenly, and the decision was made to prevent further suffering.

As an offspring of Olinka, Nika was related to some American bears. She was the great granddaughter of Olaf and Olga of the Omaha Zoo, as Olinka's father was the late Omaha, one of the six offspring of Olaf and Olga, brother to Bam Bam, who also died this year. 

Blizzard - age 5

A five year old bear named Blizzard died while being examined at the Journey to Churchill at Assiniboine Park Zoo in Canada. He had come to the zoo with his twin sister Star as a year old orphaned cub, having been picked up by a helicopter. He had recently been unwell, not eating, and had been put under anesthesia to assess his condition, and was given antibiotics. He was doing well, then his condition worsened again, and he was again put under anesthesia, but did not come out of it. There may have been some heart abnormalities.

There are nine other young rescued polar bears at Assiniboine Park Zoo.



Lutyik - almost age 19

Twins Liya and Lutyik were born December 9, 2000, to Uslada and the late Menschikov in St. Petersburg Russia. Uslada and Menschikov had 16 cubs, and many grandchildren and great grandchildren throughout Russia, Europe and Japan.

Lutyik of the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage died October 13, at nearly 19 years of age. He was born in St. Petersburg, and moved to Australia when he was just a cub, living there for five years with his sister Liya.

In Alaska, Lutyik was paired with Ahpun, but no cubs ever appeared and Ahpun died in early 2018.

Later in 2018, Lutyik welcomed a new companion, Cranbeary, to Anchorage.

Lutyik was suffering from a tumor on his kidney.  

Liya- age 19

As the year closes, we have just heard the sad news that Lutyik's twin sister Liya of Sea World Gold Coast in Australia has died suddenly and mysteriously. She was only 19. She was mother of Henry, born in the summer of 2012 and Mishka, who was born in the summer of 2017 and still lives in Australia. With the death of Liya, there are only theee polar bears in Australia: Mishka and her father Hudson, and another male named Nelson, who fathered Henry, now in Canada.

Rest in Peace, beautiful bears.

Bam Bam and Berlin together

Bam Bam by her waterfall

Exciting news for two of our older lady bears. 

Berlin in the Kansas City Zoo

30 year old Bam Bam, who is officially named Fanny, will be moving from the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska, the home she has known all her life, to the Kansas City Zoo, where she will eventually meet another older lady, Berlin, age 28. It will be a short journey as the two zoos are only a few hours apart.

Bam Bam with celery and sweet potato

Although they have never met, these ladies are related. Bam Bam's late brother Shep is the grandfather of Berlin, who was born in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1989.

 I visited both Berlin and Bam Bam on back to back days in August. Both bears were active and playful, and received great attention from their keepers.

Bam Bam with a melon. She loves melons,  just like Berlin.

Bam Bam's  twin sister, Patches, who lived with her for many years, moved to another zoo in 2007 and died in 2014. Bam Bam hasn't minded her single status it at all and has been very happy to be queen of her castle. Her keepers in Omaha have made sure she has plenty to do, and she enjoys swimming in her big pool too. One of her favorite activities is diving for her food, especially for her favorite celery, and her second favorite food, melons.

Bam Bam and her project. There is some dog kibble in there somewhere.

Sometimes there is honey or peanut butter smeared on the logs for Bam Bam.

Bam Bam is moving things around

View from overhead of Bam Bam and her wooden castle

Bam Bam, always bright and curious, is also a builder, likes moving sticks and logs around, rearranging the furniture. Her keepers put interesting scents and snacks in with the logs. They say she is a problem solver.

Branches make an interesting afternoon diversion for Bam Bam

Bam Bam got her name from her keepers when, as a cub, she kept banging on the door. 

Berlin in the grass

 Berlin got her name from the Berlin wall, which was in the news at the time of her birth. She grew up with her twin brother, Yukon. Berlin has had the company of other bears off and on. She and her mate Bubba lived together in the Duluth Minnesota zoo for many years, but she never did have cubs, and then she was a widow.

Berlin with  Buzz at the Como Zoo. Neil and Buzz are her younger uncles

After the Duluth zoo flooded and she escaped briefly, she went to live with her uncles Neil and Buzz in the Como Zoo in St. Paul, and they got along very well. Then she was moved to the Kansas City Zoo to be with young Nikita, but that did not suit her at all. The keepers finally gave up and kept them separate, since the two bears just could not get along.

Berlin has been known to plant and harvest melons in her enclosure.

Berlin is very playful since her "boyfriend" Nikita left

 Nikita moved away, going to the North Carolina Zoo a few years ago, and since then Berlin has been happily alone, enjoying her solitude, not having to share toys or food, and tending to her melon garden. Although she was subdued when around the rambunctious young Nikita, since he left she has blossomed into a fun loving lady. 

Berlin has found a fish

Berlin has lot of grassy areas in the Kansas City Zoo

 

The Kansas City Zoo is very roomy, and has grassy meadows
 and sand pits in which to roll around. 

Bam Bam in her home in Omaha. You could observe her from above, or take a long path down to see her face to face through the glass. She has had a nice home there, but no grass.

Celery for Bam Bam 

Bam Bam is popular with visitors at the Henry Doorly Zoo

Bam Bam has found a melon

Bam Bam playing with her food

Bam Bam will move in April, and the bears will be kept separate while the newcomer adjusts to her new surroundings and keepers. The bears will be gradually introduced this summer.

Berlin

It will be interesting to see how these to older lady bears react to each other. The Kansas City enclosure is very large, so there will be room for them to avoid each other. But maybe they will strike up a friendship. That would be nice. They do have a lot in common. 

Berlin with an underwater pear

With the exit of Bam Bam, the long rich polar bear history of the Henry Doorly Zoo, with Olaf and Olga and their many children, will come to an end, at least temporarily. With only 44 polar bears in U.S. zoos, any facility is lucky to have one. And now Kansas City will have two.

   

 

Kansas City, here I come, says Bam Bam

Fraulein Szenja of SeaWorld San Diego

Fräulein Szenja aus der SeaWorld San Diego

Szenja loves to swim

Two lovely lady bears, both age 19, live at SeaWorld San Diego. Snowflake was born at the Buffalo Zoo, but her friend Szenja came all the way from Germany almost 18 years ago, on April 22, 1997.

Zwei wunderbare Eisbärinnen, beide sind 19 Jahre alt, sie leben in der Sea World in San Diego. Snowflake kam aus dem Buffalo Zoo, ihre Freundin kam jedoch aus dem fernen Deutschland, vor fast 18 Jahren, am 22. April 1997. 

Szenja wakes from her nap and watches Snowflake pace

  

Szenja floats gracefully in her water ballet

Szenja was born in Wuppertal Zoo October 15, 1995. Her mother was Moscow-born Nina, and her father was Boris.

Szenja kam in Wuppertal zur Welt - am 15. Oktober 1995. Ihre Mutter war die aus Moskau geborene Nina, ihr Vater war Boris.

Szenja here has the distinctive bumpy nose of her father.

Boris was famous for his distinctive looks, with a broad and bumpy nose, squinty eyes, craggy face, and a big bump in top of his head. He was very fierce looking, and always seemed to be sneering. He died in 2009, before I could come visit him. I wish I could have met him. He was quite a character.

Boris kannte man wegen seines imposanten Gesichtsausdrucks, einer breiten und gebogenen Nase, schmalen Augen, ein mürrisches Gesicht und eine große Beule oben auf seinem Kopf. Er machte immer einen sehr furchteinflößenden Eindruck, fast konnte man ihn schnaufen hören. Er starb 2009, bevor ich in zu sehen bekam,ich hätte ihn recht gern selbst gesehen, er war schon ein Charakter.

Szenja has strong features, like her father Boris

Boris and Nina had three cubs. Troll was born November 15, 1986, and just died a few weeks ago, on February 10, 2015, at the age of 29. He spent most of his years in the Tierpark Berlin, and never did father any cubs. In recent years, because of his dominating personality, he did not mingle with the other bears, but came out by himself in the evening. Troll inherited his father's distinctive look.

Boris und Nina hatten drei Nachkommen. Troll am 15. November 1986, er verstarb am 10. Februar 2015 im Tierpark in Berlin. Er wurde 29 Jahre alt und verbrachte die meiste Zeit seiner Jahre im Tierpark in Berlin - und zeugte zeitlebens keinen Nachwuchs. Während der letzten Jahre seines Lebens, auf Grund seiner dominaten Persönlichkeit kam er mit den anderen Eisbären weniger gut zurande und wurde somit nur am Abend allein auf die Anlage gelassen. Er hat den durchdringenden Blick seines Vater übernommen.

A nice smile from beautiful Szenja

Candy, who was born November 2, 1992, was sent to Japan when she was about a year and a half old. She now lives in Sapporo, Japan. None of the three have had cubs. (Candy gave birth to a stillborn cub last December.)

Candy, die am 2. November 1992 auf die Welt kam wurde nach gut 1 1/5 Jahren nach Japan versandt. Sie lebt nun in Sapporo. Keiner der Nachkommen hatte Nachwuchs. (Candy gebar ein totes Jungtier im Dezember letzten Jahres.)

Szenja

In 1996, SeaWorld San Diego welcomed three new bears. Snowflake was American born. The other two bears came from Germany. Szenja came from Wuppertal. and Charly came from Hamburg. Charly, who was very friendly and playful, and well loved by the keepers, died in 2012 at the age of 16, having fathered no cubs with the two ladies. Charly's mother was Fanny of Gelsenkirchen Zoo, who died only a few months ago at the age of 35, believed to be the oldest polar bear in the world at the time of her death. Fanny's other cub, Victoria, still lives at the Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg, Germany. Victoria also has had no cubs.

Im Jahr 1996 bekam die SeaWorld San Diego drei neue Eisbären. Snowflake kam in den USA zur Welt, die beiden anderen Eisbären kamen aus Deutschland. Szenja aus Wuppertal, Charly aus Hamburg. Charly sei ein sehr spielfreudiger und freundlicher Eisbär, sehr geliebt von den Tierpflegern, er verstarb 2012 im Alter von 16 Jahren, er zeugte mit keiner seiner Eisbärfrauen jemals Nachwuchs. Charlys Mutter war Fanny aus dem Zoo in Gelsenkirchen, die auch erst vor einigen Monaten verstarb im unglaublichen Alter von 35 Jahren, man nimmt an, dass sie die bislang älteste, im Zoo lebende Eisbärin bis zu ihrem Tode war. Fannys anderer Nachwuchs ist Victoria, diese lebt in Hagenbecks Tierpark in Hamburg und hat bislang auch noch keinen Nachwuchs.

Snowflake in the distance, and Szenja, watching her, in front

Szenja having fun in the warm California sun

Szenja was sent to Pittsburgh on two occasions for breeding with Koda, in 2013 and 2014, but to no avail. The first year she went alone, but in 2014 SeaWorld San Diego shut down the polar bear exhibit for six months and flew both Szenja and Snowflake by FedEx to Pittsburgh. Like last year, Szenja was thought to be pregnant, but it was either a false pregnancy or she lost it. Snowflake showed no signs of pregnancy. They are not going to go to Pittsburgh again, this year.

Szenja wurde zweimal während der Paarungszeit nach Pittsburgh verbracht um sich mit Koda zu paaren, 2013 sowie auch 2014, allerdings ohne Erfolg. Im Jahr 2013 wurde Szenja allein versendet-jedoch in 2014 wurde die Eisbärenanlage in der Sea World für sechs Monaten geschlossen, die Wild Arctic wurde überholt und renoviert- und somit kamen beide Eisbären per Flugzeug von FedEx nach Pittsburgh. Man vermutet eine Scheinschwangerschaft bei Szenja, Snowflake zeigte keinerlei Anzeichen. Somit werden in 2015 die Eisbären nicht ein weiteres Mal nach Pittsburgh verschickt werden.

The enclosure as seen through the viewing window. This is Szenja

   The Wild Arctic enclosure at SeaWorld was renovated while the girls were away.

Das Wild Arctic Gehäuse in SeaWorld wurde renoviert, während die Mädchen weg waren.

Szenja walks around, looking for Snowflake

During my visit to the Wild Arctic exhibit at SeaWorld, Senja spent most of her time in the water, swimming and splashing through the underwater sunbeams.  

Während meines Besuches in der Wild Arctic in Sea World verbrachte Szenja die meiste Zeit im Wasser, schwimmen und herumtobend in den Sonnenstrahlen unter Wasser.

Szenja at play in the pool

The SeaWorld San Diego enclosure is all inside, although the roof is open and the bright California sunshine streams in. The visitor can watch the bears only through glass. A trip downstairs gives you access to a huge underwater viewing window. It is not a large area, but the pool is deep and Szenja really enjoyed it.  

Die Sea World San Diego Eisbärenanlage ist alles im Gebäude befindlich,wenn gleich das Dach offen ist und die grelle Sonne Californiens herein strömen kann. Der Besucher kann die Eisbären nur durch Glasscheiben beobachten. Etwas treppab gibt es ein etwas größeres Fenster.

Szenja in the sunbeams

There is a wonderful underwater viewing area. There is Szenja, swimming

Szenja does have the strong features of her father, but has a gentle personality. She is a beautiful, noble-looking bear, and gets along well with her friend Snowflake.

Szenja hat das Abbild ihres Vaters geerbt, aber sie ist ein freundliches Wesen. Sie ist eine schöne, edel aussehende Eisbärin, die sich sehr gut mit ihrer Freundin Snowflake verträgt.

Szenja is a beautiful lady bear

Underwater, Szenja is happy in her pool.

Übersetzung von Marga