Big changes for Crystal's family

Crystal in summer of 2023

The big news this week is the switcheroo of bears between the Toledo Zoo and the St. Louis Zoo. The move was announced after the fact. It seems that last Friday, February 28, was the last day that twins Kallik and Kallu were out in the public view in Toledo. The next thing we knew, the move had already taken place and the two year old boys were in St. Louis. 

Kallu and Kallik

Two year old Kallu and Kallik in the pool in Toledo.

In exchange, wildborn Kali (pronounced Cully) made the trip from the St. Louis Zoo to the Toledo Zoo, where the boys' mother Crystal was waiting for her new companion. 

Kali gets an ice treat, summer of 2016 in St. Louis.

Kali swims in St. Louis.

The Toledo Zoo is now repairing and upgrading their polar bear habitat, so no polar bears can be seen. In the meantime Kali will quarantine and then he and Crystal can be introduced to each other. I am not sure how much of this year's breeding season will remain by the time they meet.

Baby Kali at the Buffalo Zoo

Kali's story got off to a sad start. He was born in the winter of 2012-13 in the wilds of Alaska. A hunter mistook his mother, who was very large, for a male and killed her. Realizing that this was a nursing mother, the hunter retraced the mother bear's steps to the den and found young Kali. The hunter loaded the cub onto his snowmobile, and brought him to civilization. Kali lived in the Alaska Zoo for awhile, gaining weight and strength, and then moved to the Buffalo Zoo, where a young girl bear Luna needed a playmate.

Kali and Luna play together

Luna and Kali splash around.

Young Kali

 Luna's mother Anana was not a good mother, and ignored her, so she had been raised by keepers. The two young cubs, about the same age, hit it off and had a couple of years teaching each other to be bears.

Kali all grown up

Kali moved to the St. Louis Zoo, where he has been living alone ever since. He has grown to be a very large male. As property of Fish and Wildlife, he had been banned from the breeding program until about a year ago. His wild genes are valuable. So he has come to Toledo to find Crystal. If she is interested, we will see.

Crystal with Suka and Sakari in 2013

Crystal turned 26 years old this past November, which is at the far edge of breeding capability, but she is a proven breeder, having raised nine cubs, and the US has only three proven female breeders. The other two are her daughters Suka and Aurora, and they are already with mates.

The oldest polar bear to give birth, to my knowledge, was Uslada of the zoo in St. Petersburg Russia. Uslada was born in November of 1987. Just weeks after she turned 26 years old, she gave birth to her 16th cub Zabava in 2013.

Crystal nursing Sakari and Suka in 2013

If Crystal were to give birth next fall, it would be around the time she is turning 27 years old, so she would become the oldest. 

Crystal nursing Bo in 2019

Becoming a mother is exhausting for a polar bear. There are months of denning awaiting birth, and then months afterwards of not eating but having to produce milk for the cubs. Then when the cubs are old enough, the polar bear mom has to teach them important lessons through play, and guard them to keep them safe. If it is a single cub, mama is the only playmate, so that is even more demanding.

Crystal and probably mama's boy Kallu.

Crystal is the mother or grandmother of all the polar bears under the age of 10 in the US, except for Kava, a wildborn rescue female now in the Alaska Zoo. There is a problem finding suitable mates who are not closely related, and any cubs resulting from this new pair will also be offspring of Crystal, so I am not sure what we will gain, even if the cubs carry Kali's wildborn genes.

Crystal was born in Monde Sauvage Safari Parc in Aywaille, Belgium in 1998, where she had an older sister, Blanche. Crystal came to Toledo when she was about a year and a half, in the spring of 2000, just as the fine new polar bear habitat at the Arctic Encounter was opening. A young male polar bear named Marty was waiting for her. Another female bear, wildborn Nanuyaak, usually called Nan, arrived in 2001.

Aurora and Anana in Columbus in 2011

Crystal raised twin girls Aurora and Anana, born to Crystal and Marty in 2006. The girls moved to a beautiful meadow habitat at the Columbus Zoo. Aurora has become mother to Nora, twins Nuniq and Neva, and Kulu. Anana gave birth to Amelia Gray. Sadly, Anana passed away a few years ago.

Crystal and baby Siku

Next was Siku, born in 2009. Crystal did a fine job of mothering him, and in the fall of 2011 he moved to the Louisville Zoo where he lived next to but not with his grandmother Arki, who had retired from Brookfield Zoo. Siku currently lives in Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago with Talini.

Suka and Sakari in 2013

In 2012 boy and girl twins Sakari and Suka were born. Sakari now lives in the Buffalo Zoo with Luna, and Suka lives in the nearby Detroit Zoo with Nuka, who is the father of Crystal's last set of twins Kallik and Kallu, as well as Suka's twins Laerke and Astra. 

Crystal and Hope in 2016

Hope was born in 2015. She moved to Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City where she played with Aurora's daughter Nora. Hope now lives in Brookfield Zoo in Chicago with Hudson, brother of Marty.

Crystal and Bo in 2019

Borealis, usually called Bo, was born in 2018 and in 2020 moved to Henry Vilas Zoo in Wisconsin. Just last year, he moved to the Louisville Zoo, where he is companion to wildborn Qannik, who has now gotten permission from Fish and Wildlife to associate with boy bears.

Marty died in late 2021. Since Crystal's daughter Suka had given birth to twins in nearby Detroit, Suka's mate Nuka was on his own, so he was brought to Toledo, where he and Crystal got along very well.

Kallu and Kallik in June of 2023.

Twin boys Kallik and Kalu were born in late 2022. Nuka had gone back to Detroit, so it was just Crystal and her cubs. She took excellent care of the babies, but probably was happy they were twins and could entertain each other while she rested and watched. She seemed tired.

Crystal raised the boys for two years. Recently she showed signs that she was getting annoyed with them, and so they were separated. Now the boys are off on a new adventure in St. Louis. 

Crystal was ready for her retirement, but now there is a new suitor who has arrived, and we will see what happens.

Yes, Crystal is 26 years old.

Birthday parties for Crystal and the cubs last November. A party on Sunday for Crystal and a party on Monday for the boys.

Nan, now the oldest polar bear in a US zoo, lives in the Como Zoo in Minnesota with Neil, the oldest male polar bear in the country, and Crystal's grandson Kulu. 

Relatives in Europe

For those wondering about Crystal's overseas relatives, her sister Blanche died last year, but her daughter Qannik still lives in Monde Sauvage. Blanche's son Nanook lives in Skandinavisk Dyrepark in Denmark, and there he has a son Siku and a daughter Nuno, who also has twin daughters, Nivi and Anori.  Nanook's son Nanu lives in France.  

A new "Era" for Qannik

Qannik at her birthday party in 2023

 It's time to celebrate Qannik's birthday with a party, and also to look ahead to what her future might hold. This year the party had a Taylor Swift theme with an environmental twist.

The keepers setting up the party on January 20, 2024.
Qannik was gifted a new giant pickle by a fan.

This past Saturday, Louisville Zoo celebrated Qannik's 13th birthday with a Swifty theme, on a sunny but bitterly cold day. Perfect for a polar bear.

A new ball, a t-shirt slogan, and an icy treat for Qannik.

Qannik got a new red ball and a new giant pickle, plus lots of her favorite pumpkin chunks. The specially designed posters were affixed to blocks with yummy peanut butter, and Qannik had fun ripping off the posters and licking the peanut butter.

Qannik comes down the ramp to the "stage"
 which was set with song lyrics and Swifty sayings.

Qannik performs some clever dance steps for her fans.

The zoo decided that because Qannik was entering her teen years, a Taylor Swift theme would be appropriate. The keepers had fun putting together the song lyrics and Swifty sayings that decorated the "stage."

Qannik inspects the Conservation ERA poster, featuring her photos.

Qannik in front of her ERAS poster.

Qannik's version of the ERAS poster

                                   Promoting Conservation the Qannik way. 

                                  "Cruel Summer" is a Taylor Swift song.

                               Delicious poster for Qannik's RED album.

                                       Qannik shows off how tall she is.

So many pretty bear pictures on the poster.

Qannik's special guest at her party was the Night Heron,
 a native bird to Kentucky who has made Glacier Run his home for the past year. Qannik doesn't seem to mind.

Click on this link below to see my story and photos in Knuti's Magazine featuring more pics of the Night Heron with Qannik:

Knuti's Magazine story on Qannik

The number of polar bears in US zoos has been in decline for several decades. While there were once 300 or so polar bears in US zoos, the number is now down to below 40. All the younger bears are closely related, which makes pairing them off more difficult. 

A poorly thought through federal law passed in 2008 banned the import of polar bears from other countries.  Whereas we used to trade polar bears to Europe and even Japan, and brought in bears as well, that was stopped. Crystal, our most prolific mother and grandmother, was born in Belgium, and without her, there would be no young ones here in the US. 

Crystal of the Toledo Zoo, with one of her current twins.

To complicate matters, rescued polar bear cubs from Alaska had been deemed to be the property of Fish and Wildlife and under their jurisdiction. For many years, these bears, even though they were born in the US, could not be part of the breeding program. That is changing, and thus Qannik can be matched with a male polar bear now.

It isn't just Qannik who has been affected. A young female polar bear named Zara was rescued last year and now lives at the Alaska Zoo. She is two years old.

The San Diego Zoo has three wildborn bears, but female Chinook is too old to breed, and 23 year old brother and sister twins Kalluk and Tatqiq are bonded and would not do well apart. Tatqiq has been on birth control for many years, so she cannot reproduce, but Kalluk might be considered for breeding as his wild genes are valuable. I have understood that Chinook, Kalluk and Tatqiq were grandfathered anyway, and not included in the breeding ban of wild bears.

 Kali, the male polar bear who was rescued when his mother was shot by a hunter, and who lived in the Alaska Zoo, then the Buffalo Zoo as a companion to young Luna, and now in the St. Louis Zoo, has been living alone for years, but maybe now can be matched with a suitable female from our core family from Crystal.

Of course zoos that currently have a polar bear or two are not happy to give them up, so it will probably be a struggle to find a mate for Qannik. Since she is wildborn, her genes are quite valuable, and she is not related to any of the other zoo bears.

20 year old Payton, who was born in the Brookfield Zoo and later lived in the Memphis Zoo and then the North Carolina Zoo, was chosen to move to Louisville to be a mate to Qannik, but sadly he died two hours into his journey on October 25. It was later found that he had some heart disease and a tumor, but no definitive cause of death has been announced. 

So now we wait to see if our bachelorette bear will find a suitable companion. She has never lived with another polar bear, but she is quite familiar with both Siku of Lincoln Park and Lee of Columbus, for these males have also spent time in Louisville, living next door to Qannik, so she knows them in that way, accustomed to their scent and seeing them often, but not sharing a space exactly.

Siku during his years in the Louisville Zoo.

I am sure that both Nuka and Lee, as proven breeders, were on the list as possible suitors as Suka and Aurora waited through the denning up season, but as no cubs were born, these guys will not be moving, most likely.

Five year old Bo, who was born in Toledo and is now living with older lady bear Berit in Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison Wisconsin, might be a good choice, as he is young and just beginning his breeding years. Berit has given him the social skills to interact with a lady bear. Crystal's year old twin boys, Kalluk and Kallu, will be needing a place to which to move in about a year, and they could move in with Berit at Henry Vilas. 

Bo at Henry Vilas.

Qannik is quite people oriented, and something of a diva, so I suspect it will take some time for her to accept a boyfriend. She might do best with Bo, since he is young and probably willing to follow her lead. Breeding season is almost underway, so there will probably be no action this coming season.

So now Qannik waits to see who is coming to keep her company.

Qannik, our latest Bachelorette. 

Here's Qannik in 2020, showing that she can "Shake It Off."

Young Lovebirds at the Buffalo Zoo

Sakari in his great new home

Luna, born and raised at the Buffalo Zoo

Luna and Sakari, the young polar bear couple at the Buffalo Zoo, had very different starts in life. And now they are together in the brand new Arctic Edge exhibit, and seem very excited about each other.

Luna from the backside, Sakari across the way,
 in the large new polar bear home at the Buffalo Zoo

Both will be five years old in November.

Luna at the Arctic Edge pool

 Luna was born in secret at the Buffalo Zoo. Her mother Anana was not interested in taking care of her new daughter, so one of the keepers took the newborn cub home to bottle feed her and raise her secretly.

Luna is very round and fluffy, like her mother Anana

Shortly before Luna's birth, her father Nanuq left the Buffalo Zoo to live at the Columbus Zoo. Soon after Luna's birth, Anana was shipped off to Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. It seemed as if there were no polar bears left at the Buffalo Zoo, just when the zoo was beginning its push to tear down the old bear pits built in the 1890s and build a new $14 million 35,000 square foot state of the art polar bear home called Arctic Edge.

One of the old 1890s Buffalo Zoo bear pits in a photo from 2013.
 They were torn down and replaced with the magnificent Arctic Edge.

But then surprise! The snowy little cub Luna made her public debut in early March of 2013, along with a campaign called "Keep Our Bears in Buffalo" to raise funds for the Arctic Edge. As a cub, her needs were simple. She didn't need a regular polar bear enclosure. She romped in the snow and played with toys as her keepers kept an eye on her. She was a big hit with the public as she grew and thrived.

Luna as a cub

Luna, so named because she was born under a full moon, was one of only three cubs born in American zoos that year. The other two were twins Suka and Sakari, born in Toledo.

Luna and Kali playing in Buffalo

Video of Luna and Kali as cubs

In May, Luna was joined by a rescued orphaned cub from Alaska named Kali. Luna had now had a real play mate! She and Kali lived together in a small enclosure near the zebras. They had a pool and lots of toys. People were lined up to see this cute little pair. As they grew, the pair needed more space and the new polar bear habitat at the Buffalo Zoo was not even started yet, so the cubs were moved to one of the tiger enclosures, where they alternated with the tigers, day and night. Construction on Arctic Edge started in March of 2014.

Luna loves the mud pile by her pool

 In the summer of 2015, Kali moved to a new polar bear habitat at the St. Louis Zoo. Soon after, Luna's mother Anana returned from Chicago, just in time for the opening of the Arctic Edge in September of 2015, where she stayed until November of 2016. Anana is now living at the Cincinnati Zoo. Although she has lived in many different habitats at the Buffalo Zoo, Luna has never left the care of the Buffalo Zoo staff.

Entrance to the Arctic Edge, home of polar bears, American Bald Eagles, Arctic Foxes and an elusive Lynx.

Fluffy Luna

There are plenty of landscaping features in the polar bear home to make life interesting

Luna on a rock

Luna between the rocks

 Sakari has a very different story. He and his sister Suka were born to an experienced mother, Crystal, at the Toledo Zoo. She took very good care of her cubs, and they had each other to play with too.

Crystal with Suka and Sakari

Suka and Sakari as little cubs

Sakari and Suka in Toledo, ready to leave home

When they were nearly two years old, the twins moved to the Como Zoo in St. Paul, Minnesota, where they shared the habitat with good natured brothers Neil and Buzz. In the summer of 2015, Suka and Sakari  moved to the brand new large and grassy Arctic Passage at the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison Wisconsin. 

Suka and Sakari in Madison

Brother Sakari and Sister Suka had much fun playing and swimming. Sakari especially was growing up fast, is is a very big boy now. Last November, on the same day that Luna's mother moved to Cincinnati, Berit, the female bear in Cincinnati, moved up to Wisconsin to be Suka's companion, and Sakari moved to Buffalo to be with Luna.

Sakari and his stick

 The young bears seemed to hit it off right away. While they usually play apart, very often they interact and play. Here is a video of Sakari and Luna playing in the water in one of their huge saltwater pools. 

Video of Luna and Sakari splashing around

Luna enjoys it up to a point, and then she runs away.

There is  a giant picture window

Sakari has lots of room to roam

 The Arctic Edge has two large grassy areas with varied landscape, and a large saltwater pool in each.  At this time, both bears have access to both places, which are connected by tunnels with glass walls so we can see them as they go from one side to another. If cubs come along, the enclosures can be separated easily by closing the tunnels. Visitors enjoy the huge windows on the spacious bear yards.

A view of the underground connecting tunnels

Luna enters the underground tunnel connecting the two habitats

So for now, Luna and Sakari are just enjoying their fabulous home and each other. They are young. There is plenty of time to have cubs.

Sakari and Luna play in the water

Luna enjoys playing with the children through the glass too. The kids love it!

Sakari

Sakari shaking it off!

Stepping over the log is good exercise for Sakari

A favorite stick for Sakari

The best toys are simple

More fun with the stick

Sakari roaming around