Polar bears Kiska and Koluk in the desert

Kiska in front, Koluk sleeping in back.
 I took these photos about two weeks before Koluk died.

Some people may wonder how polar bears do in a desert environment as in the ABQ Biopark in Albuquerque NM. Twin brothers Kiska and Koluk  have lived there for a quarter of a century in good spirits most of the time. 

Koluk standing atop the basin, Kiska in front.

 Sad to say, Koluk died of liver and kidney failure, common illnesses in polar bears of advanced age, a little more than a week after my visit. He was 26 years old. His twin brother Kiska carries on by himself now, and seems to be in robust health. 

I visited the brothers last summer, and they were both active and playful. This visit, Kiska was his old self, but Koluk was barely there, coming out rarely, never swimming, very slow of movements. I could tell he was not doing well. His twin brother Kiska knew this as well, I am sure, and left his ailing brother alone.

Kiska and Koluk having breakfast together in the cave area.

It seemed to me that Kiska had already moved on, that he knew his brother was dying and it was best to just let him be alone. The boys usually nibbled on their breakfast together down in the cave area, the Koluk went inside while Kiska roamed around the enclosure, doing his own thing. Kiska carried on with the business of being a polar bear, swimming and playing and pacing and sleeping. 

Koluk would occasionally come out into the lower area, and a few times he climbed to the upper area, then dozed on his favorite rock, while Kiska roam and played.

On my last day there of my four days at the zoo, I finally found a polar bear keeper and conveyed my worries about Koluk. Yes, he was slowing down, I was told, but I was assured he should be fine again. By the end of the week, the vets had done an exam of Koluk and found liver and kidney failure. It progressed rapidly and he was gone a week later.

Kiska front, Koluk back

Koluk resting his chin on a rock.

And now it is just Kiska.

Kiska killing the barrel.

If you look hard enough, over by the wolves, you can find the old small outmoded polar bear enclosure which was been abandoned when the new habitat was built a quarter of a century ago, but is still there behind a fence. The newer enclosure was finished just before Kiska and Koluk arrived in 1997. The bears have three waterfalls, a lower pool and a deep diving pool, a slide with running water (which they have been known to climb up), and air conditioned bedrooms. There is also an inside pool.

To address Kiska's pacing problem, some changes were made recently. Kiska had gotten into the habit of pacing atop the rim of the upper pool, repeating the same seven steps in one direction, then reversing and doing seven steps back. Always in the same spot. Some polar bears pace, some swim laps repetitively. It is a calming mechanism, and has been shown to lower their cortisol levels.

Kiska in his pacing routine, which is now less frequent than it was.

A plan was devised to give the polar bear brothers access to more inside space which had previously been closed off to them, and when Kiska has been pacing for a bit, a keeper will call him inside to disrupt the pattern. When he returns to the outside, Kiska usually finds something else to do. These measures have reduced his pacing considerably, but he will probably always want to do his little dance. He  sometimes will stop pacing on his own to take a dip in the pool, or play with the many toys. 

Treat time, which is when the keeper brings in a bucket of rainbow trout to throw, will vary so Kiska won't be as likely to anticipate it. Anything to break up the usual routine. Sometimes they get salmon, but their favorite is squid.

Koluk with his fish. Although he was always an avid swimmer, Koluk wanted the fish thrown to him on dry land so he didn't have to get his paws wet, during his illness in his last few weeks.

Koluk was diagnosed with a heart murmur in 2019 and after that, the keepers made sure Koluk got his fish without diving for it. In his last few weeks, Koluk didn't want to put his paws in the water, even to get fish. 

Kiska is still quite the diver.

Kiska dives for the trout.

The zoo is in the middle of some major building projects right now, the Australian area and the new elephant habitat, but there is also a tentative plan down the road to improve the polar bear enclosure. 

Since the lions Kenya and Dixie left for Abilene in March of 2023, that grassy habitat adjoining the polar bear home has been empty. It was too small for lions, but it would be quite easy to attach it to Inukshuk Bay, which is what the polar bear area is called. I don't know if the death of Koluk will affect this, or how solid is this plan.

Welcome to Inukshuk Bay.

Connecting to the old lion enclosure would greatly improve the polar bear habitat, giving the bear (or bears) more variety, a much bigger area, and grass. From talking to the docents, I got the idea that when both these bears are gone, the zoo plans to stop keeping polar bears, but this clever change might bring it up to current standards.

The old lion habitat is fronted by a moat.

Edge of polar bear habit (left) adjoins the old lion habitat.

The edge of the old lion habit, empty now.
 You can see the walls of the polar bear habitat behind.

 Of course with the death of Koluk, we now have only 39 polar bears in US zoos, so it is not a sure bet that polar bears will be available. On the bright side, Crystal and Nuka's twin boys in Toledo were added to the population, and they are only six months old.

Kiska having fun with a big barrel.

Kiska is pretty playful for a 26 year old bear.

I did see Kiska playing with a big barrel for a long time. Even though he is 26, he is very playful. 

Kiska doesn't swim for long periods,
but he often takes quick dips in the chilled deep dive pool.
There is a lovely huge underwater viewing window.

He also likes to take short swims in the deep dive pool, which gives visitors a chance to see a polar bear underwater up close.

 

Kiska in the swim. 

A wider view of the polar bear enclosure, with a lower pool and an upper deep dive pool, a waterslide, and three waterfalls.
That is Koluk on the top.

Kiska and Koluk were born in Salt Lake City in November of 1996 to Chinook and Andy. Their half brother Denali lives in Sapporo, Japan and is the father of eight cubs. Anana (mother of Buffalo Luna) of Brookfield, Cincinnati, Buffalo and Detroit was also their younger sister, and they had a half sister, Aurora of Rochester, mother of Lee (father of Kulu), Haley, Peyton and Anoki.  

And here are their cousins around the world! Their grandfather was Bruno of Memphis, who was also the father of CW and Elvis who went to Europe. Elvis was the father of the famous Chocolate Bears, or Hybrid bears, Tips and Taps. CW was the mother of Nuuk-Nordman, father of Freedom; Ilka, mother of Danish Siku, Nanu and Nuno; Manasse, father of Ranzo and Sisu; Baffin of Japan (mother of Momo-Peach), and the late Yukihime of Japan. So their cousins include Ranzo of Vienna Austria, Sisu of YWP in the UK, Kulu of Como Zoo Minnesota, Sprinter of Hanover Germany, Sesi of Mulhouse France, Taiko-Siku of La Fleche in France, Akiak of Amneville France, cubs Kaja and Skadi of Rostock Germany, and Sura of Ouwehands the Netherlands. Not to mention all of Denali's cubs and grandchildren in Japan. 

I will be watching to see what the future holds for the polar bears in the ABQ Biopark. Kiska seems to be in good health, and may live for quite some time. Maybe the expansion plan involving the lion habitat will happen. Even though some may think the desert is not a good home for these bears, Kiska and Koluk have thrived here for 25 years. I hope Kiska continues to be well and enjoy his desert paradise.

The last days of Koluk

 

Koluk two weeks ago

When visitors enter ABQ Biopark in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the first thing they see is a huge marquee photo of polar bear brothers Kiska and Koluk above the entrance gate.

Above the ticket taking booths at ABQ Zoo, the polar bears greet you.

Now news has come that one of those gorgeous bears, Koluk, has passed away.

When I visited ABQ Biopark in Albuquerque two weeks ago, I couldn't guess that one of the twin brother bears I had come to see would be gone so soon.

I had planned to wrote a piece on my visit to the bear brothers in the desert, and I still will do that, but sadly, I must write a farewell to Koluk, the most handsome of polar bears. 

Kiska is front, Koluk in back

Koluk and Kiska were born in Salt Lake City in November of 1996, so they were both getting up there in years, but both of them looked pretty hefty and healthy for male bears of 26 years. However, I could tell that something was up with Koluk, for his fur, usually green with algae from all his swimming, was white. He hadn't been in the water for quite awhile. His movements were slower. He kept to himself. He was just not his fun-loving self.

Koluk's fur was white, not its usual algae green.

 Koluk spent much more time behind the scenes than his twin brother. While Kiska was out and about and having fun, Koluk had hidden himself away much of the time. Even when the keeper threw the special daily treat of Rainbow Trout into the water, Koluk didn't want to wade in to retrieve it. But wade in he did, with a complaining look, and got the fish.

Koluk did wade in a bit to get the rainbow trout.

Koluk then retreated onto dry land to shake off and eat his prize.

Koluk, always the swimmer, would rather remain on shore during his final weeks. Kiska still dives right in.

I spent four days at the zoo, and on Monday, May 15, I waved goodbye to the the polar bear brothers, wondering if this would be the last time I would see Koluk, for I suspected he wasn't well.

The brothers on Mother's Day, under a brilliant sky. Koluk on the left.

I told the keeper, whom I had met last year, that I was worried about Koluk. He had slowed down so much, was staying out of sight mostly, and hadn't been in the water at all, which was not like him. She said that Koluk had shown some behavior changes for the past couple of weeks, but the changes were pretty recent and hopefully he should  get back to normal and be fine. 

Koluk

But on Friday, May 19, Koluk underwent an examination while under anesthesia, and the vets found that he had advanced liver and kidney failure. During the next week, they did what they could, but his health declined faster than expected, and he was released from this life on Friday, May 26.

He and his twin brother came from the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City to Albuquerque when they were just ten months old, so they have lived in the zoo in the desert for a quarter of a century.

Their mother was Chinook, descended from Bruno and Hilda of the Memphis Zoo, and as such they are related to a good number of European bears descended from CW, daughter of Bruno, her daughter Ilka, and Freedom, her granddaughter. Kiska and Koluk's father was Andy, descended from Becky and Herman Jr. of the Buffalo Zoo. 

 The ABQ Biopark Zoo (then the Rio Grande Zoo) enclosure was new when they came, has a lower pool and upper pool, as well as a waterfall and slide, which the bears would sometimes climb up.

Koluk in the water, as was his usual habit, last summer.

The brothers swimming together in June of 2022.

In their early days in ABQ, their young niece Anoki, daughter of their sister Aurora, came to live with them for awhile too. She is now living in Rochester NY, where she was born.

Koluk in the water, Kiska on shore, in June of 2022.

Koluk and Kiska were brothers of the late Anana of Buffalo, Brookfield, Cincinnati and Detroit, and half brothers of the late Aurora, and also Denali who lives in Japan and is father of eight cubs there. They were uncles of Luna of the Buffalo Zoo (daughter of Anana), and also Lee, Anoki, Peyton and Haley, children of Aurora.

Koluk was a handsome bear, with a magnificent head. He was chosen by Joel Sartore for his photographic Animal Ark, featured in National Geographic. 

He was playful all his life, and even sometimes threw balls and other toys over the fence to the visitors.

Koluk playing with balls, last summer.
 He was always one to have fun with his toys.

In 2019 he was diagnosed with a heart murmur. After that, when it was fish throwing time, the keepers would invite Kiska to do his cliff dive, but Koluk was restricted to getting his fish at ground level.

 

The last photo I took of Koluk (in back) on May 15. Eleven days later he was gone. Right after the fish throw, Koluk retreated into the bedroom area, all worn out. That's Kiska in front, ready for more adventures.

Kiska and Koluk are much like that other pair of twin brothers, Neil and Buzz in Como Zoo in St. Paul Minnesota, about a year older than Kiska and Koluk, together all their lives. When Buzz died a few years ago, Neil was alone, but before too long, an older lady bear named Nan moved in, and then three year old Kulu came along, and Neil was not alone any longer. Maybe a companion can be found for Kiska. If not, Kiska will be just fine on his own.

During my four days at the zoo, I noticed that Kiska had, in a sense, already moved on and was behaving independently. He did take note of his brother, and they spent some time together, mostly in the front cave area in the morning, eating breakfast together, enjoying the polar bear chow spread out for them with extra fruits and vegetables.  But Kiska spent his days in fun activities, tossing and destroying a barrel, swimming in the deep pool, doing his seven step pacing dance on the ledge (although not as much as he used to). Koluk sometimes came out to watch, but mostly stayed inside.

The polar bear brothers have been a big part of the ABQ Biopark Zoo for a quarter century, and Koluk will surely be missed by his many fans and friends, and especially by his keepers, who loved him dearly. 

Rest in Peace, big guy.

Twin brothers in the desert

 

Koluk, top, and Kiska below, 
waiting for the keeper to throw some fish.

Kiska and Koluk were born in Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City, in the high desert of Utah, on November 19, 1996, and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico when they were still cubs. Their parents were Chinook and Andy. 

Koluk in the water, as usual, and Kiska on dry land.

So how do polar thrive in a desert environment? Very well, it seems. Polar bears are adaptable.

The brothers are a lot more active in the winter, and especially enjoy the snow days in the desert, but find great ways to keep cool in the summer.  ABQ Biopark, on the banks of the Rio Grande River, calls their polar bear habitat Inukshuk Bay, all concrete, but there is a deep pool built up in the center of the habitat, rather like a mountain, and a lower swimming area too. Their bedrooms are air conditioned, and they always have the option of going inside.

Koluk swimming around the lower window.

There is even a slide with water whooshing down, but the bears don't actually use it as a slide.

Kiska climbing up the water slide.

 They do climb up and down that slide, very sure-footed as they are. In addition to the viewing from above, visitors can see the bears through windows along a tunnel, where one window shows the lower swimming area, the center window shows the underwater activity of the bears in the 14 foot deep diving pool, and the third window shows a shaded cave area and the door leading to the indoor bedrooms.

Kiska wants to take a nap in front of the shady right  window,
 and Koluk carries a chunk of meat inside.

Koluk (pronounced KaLUKE with the accent on the second syllable) spends a lot more time in the water, and has a greenish cast to his fur as a result of harmless algae growth in the hollow hairs of his fur.

Koluk

 Kiska is more active, but spends less time in the water.

Kiska

Although they are twins, they are easy to tell apart. For one thing, Koluk is much greener, at least at this time of year, but he also weighs about a hundred pounds more, and has a craggy shaggy neck and head. Kiska is pretty clean looking, and has a dark line arching over his nose. Both brothers have that pouty lower lip, the same as their late sister Anana. Kiska also has the same lounging poses as his sister, some of the same mannerisms. Kiska is a lot more streamlined than his heavier brother.

Koluk above, Kiska below.

The polar bear brothers are served their main breakfast separately inside, but every morning they get some treats in the habitat.

The keeper distributes some snacks early in the day. See the fish?

The first day I visited, polar bear kibble was spread here and there, plus carrots, sweet potatoes and apples, lured the bears out to have a snack. Oh yes, there was some fish too.

Kiska starts the day with polar bear kibble, fruits and vegetables

On the second morning of my visit, the keeper had put out two watermelons: one floating in the high pool, and the other in the lower pool. One was intended for Kiska, and the lower melon was for Koluk, but somehow, Kiska got both. Koluk did enjoy some of the leftover pieces of rind.

Kiska leaps into the high pool to get a watermelon.

Kiska first appeared above the upper pool, then dove in to get the melon, eating most of it perched on the ledge. Polar bears have very good balance.

Kiska retrieves the first melon

Kiska gets his prize

Kiska shakes it off.

It's a watermelon

Watermelon smiles.

Then Kiska spotted the second melon in the lower pool. Koluk was busy with something else and had not seen it, so Kiska dove in, grabbed the melon and made a second breakfast of it.

Kiska gets the good parts of the watermelon. 

By the time Koluk had noticed the melons, most of the sweet juicy part was gone, so he nibbled what he could find, and munched on the rind.

Koluk gets the leftovers.

Still yummy, says Koluk

In the early afternoon of both days of my visit, the keeper would appear with a bucket of rainbow trout, and the brothers would get very excited, for they knew what was coming. The keeper would call one of their names, get that bear's attention, and then throw a fish for him. 

Kiska with a fish

For Kiska, the keeper would throw a fish (usually two fish, to make it seem worthwhile for him to climb up there, she said) into the upper pool. He would climb up, retrieve the fish, and then she would target the next fish for him in the lower pool so he would perform a spectacular dive to get it, which is not only good exercise and fun for him, but a thrill for the visitors. I was right next to the keeper, so I didn't get a good photo of Kiska diving, but it was quite a crowd pleaser. And there was quite a crowd there, watching the bears go for their fish.

My poor view of Kiska's spectacular dive,
as I was standing next to the keeper throwing fish.

For Koluk, she would get his attention, and then throw the fish at the far end of the lower pool. No high dive for him, for he has been diagnosed with heart problems, and they don't want to stress him. 

Koluk with his trout

They do love the trout, but their favorite food is salmon, which they sometimes get when it is donated.

At age 25, they are just a year younger than Neil of Como Zoo, who holds the honor of being the oldest male polar bear in a US zoo.

Koluk weighs about 750 pounds, although he has avoided stepping on the scale lately. Kiska has been weighed, and comes in at 650 pounds.

Kiska's back end view

Kiska and Koluk came to what was then the Rio Grande Zoo in Albuquerque when they were 11 months old. At some point, the zoo changed its name to ABQ BioPark. The brothers are both listed as neutered, although Kiska retains one testicle. Something interrupted the surgery, and it was only half done. It is possible that he is still fertile, according to the keeper.

Anoki, who is the daughter of Kiska and Koluk's late half sister Aurora in Rochester New York, and the same age as the brothers, joined them in Albuquerque just a few months after they arrived, and stayed for ten years, finally moving to Maryland in 2008, where she stayed for another ten years. She has since moved back to Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, where she was born.  

Handsome Koluk has recently been immortalized by photographer Joel Sartore through his well known Photo Ark, a project to capture images of as many species as he can. There is a magnificent head shot of Koluk where his pouty lower lip is very obvious, reminding me very much of Kiska and Koluk's younger sister Anana, who lived at the Cincinnati Zoo for a few years before moving to Detroit, where she died of heart failure during the winter.  Koluk was chosen, I am sure, because he is such an impressive bear, with a massive head and neck, but also an expressive face. Click the link below to see Koluk in the Photo Ark.

Koluk in Joel Sartore's Photo Ark

The boys are very playful. While they don't often play together when out in the enclosure, they do have fun together behind the scenes, their keeper reported.

Koluk has a little game where he likes to "pop" a little red ball and see it bounce. 

Koluk playing with his little red ball.

Kiska once used a big blue plastic lid as a frisbee and threw it up to a young visitor, over and over, until he got it right.

Koluk and Kiska have relatives around the world. Their niece Luna, daughter of their late sister Anana, lives in Buffalo. Their late half sister Aurora left behind sons Lee of Louisville, and daughters Hayley of Memphis, Anana of North Carolina, and their companion of many years Anoki, of Rochester NY.

The twins also have a half brother, Denali, who lives in Japan and has fathered eight cubs there.

Kiska and Koluk's mother Chinook was born in Memphis, and was half sister to CW and Elvis, who moved to Europe, so there are many cousins there.

Through their father Andy they are closely related to Koda, Nuka, Snowflake, the late Rizzo, and also the late Arturo, who was famously the subject of many petitions and concern for him in his home in Argentina.

It was interesting to see how these two brothers are getting along in that zoo next to the Rio Grande. The keepers give them plenty of enrichment, a great variety of toys. One of the docents remarked that you never see either one of the boys pacing, for they always have something fun to do.

Koluk and Kiska of ABQ Biopark.