Bear Switcheroo

 

Aurora on the polar bear side.

The Columbus Zoo, home to Aurora and Lee Polar Bears, and Brutus and Buckeye Alaskan Brown Bears, has two glorious bear habitats adjacent. This summer, the zoo is experimenting with switching out the polar bears and the brown bears for enrichment purposes, as this will give each pair a kind of "vacation" to visit an area unfamiliar and interesting.  So far they have switched the bears twice, each time for just a day, to give the bears a chance to experience how the other half lives, so to speak.

Brutus (or Buckeye) sleeping on the brown bear side.

Both spacious habitats kind of face each other, with a central visitors' center in between, and a wall at the end in common behind which are the "bedrooms" of the bears. It is fairly easy to route the bears to the opposite side and the unfamiliar enclosure, so that is what the staff has done on several occasion, with hopes to continue this fun activity for all four of the bears.

Lee rubbing his scent onto the wood, after the brown bears were there the day previous.

I was at the Columbus Zoo the day after the old switcheroo, so I saw how the polar bears reacted when they were back in their familiar territory after the "invaders" had left.

Lee makes sure the furniture smells like polar bears.

Lee was quite intent on making sure his scent was on various spots around the enclosure where the brown bears had rubbed their scent. 

Aurora rubbing her scent on a large log, where the brown bears had rubbed the day before.

Aurora rubs on the  logs around the enclosure, lending her scent
to the spots the brown bears had visited. 

Aurora, too, spent a lot of time rubbing on the rocks where the brown bears had marked. 

Brown bear napping in the brown bear area.

The brown bears, however, didn't seem to care as much as whether some other bears had rubbed their scent onto logs in their side the previous day. One of the bears was inside, sleeping, and the other was slumbering in the sun, not really caring who had been there the day before.

A view of the brown bear swimming area, a shallow pool, where Lee enjoyed showing off his skills.

I gathered that on the previous day, the day of the habitat exchange, the polar bears were quite curious, smelling everything, investigating the new area. They were a great deal more active than usual. The large fish in the brown bear area had been removed to save them from being eaten by the polar bears. Lee liked swimming in the brown bear pool, which has a different orientation, not below the visitors but right in front of them, and Lee liked exhibiting his swimming skills with this new exposure, standing up for the guests even, in the shallow pool, batting around a red ball. 

The brown bears, on the other hand, enjoyed visiting the deeper pool on the polar bear side, and were quite playful, in spite of their 22 years. Usually, the brown bears are pretty quiet, but on the day of the exchange, they couldn't get enough of playing. Maybe that is why they were so quiet the next day, exhausted from all the frolicking.

Aurora in the pool, with the misting machine wafting cooling water drops over her. 

Aurora un-misted.

Aurora at her own pool,
with a crystal clear reflection. 

Lee was tired on the day after the exchange, and spent a great deal of his time napping, but taking a break to roll around on the grass, making sure it all smelled like polar bears again. 

Lee rolling his scent onto the grass

Also itching some spots.

Rolling in the grass feels so good. 

Aurora found her own sort of play, with cardboard boxes. She has figured out how to juggle the smashed pieces. 

Aurora noses the pieces of cardboard

Tossing the cardboard into the air

Making sure the cardboard smells like polar bear

More juggling with the paws

Aurora inspects the pickle, which had been put away the day before so the grizzly bears couldn't get to it. 

The grizzly bear brothers are very destructive, so all polar bear toys like the pickles had to be hidden away from the visitors. There is a display of the damage that Brutus and Buckeye did to the heavy duty window frame in their exhibit when they were younger.

What is left of the window frame from Brutus and Buckeyes' enclosure when the cubs first moved in.

On the day I visited, Lee did not swim and did not interact with Aurora, but Aurora enjoyed the pool quite a bit. 

 

Aurora poses for a picture.

Aurora lazing in the pool 

Aurora has a young fan.

Aurora and her late twin sister Anana were born in Toledo to Crystal (born in Belgium) and Marty(born in Brookfield) in 2006, so Aurora is 19 years old. She is the mother of four cubs: Nora, Nuniq, Neva and Kulu.

Lee and his twin sister Anana were born in Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester NY in 1999 to Aurora, born in Hogle Zoo and Yukon, born in the Cincinnati Zoo. He is 26 years old. Lee is the father of Aurora's son Kulu. 

Alaskan Brown Bears Brutus and Buckeye were orphaned in the wilds of Alaska and rescued in 2004 at just a couple of months old. They have spent almost their entire lives at the Columbus Zoo.   

Aurora climbed the big perching rock over the pool and took a nap. 

Rotating enclosures is employed at several other zoos. Brookfield Zoo in Chicago has three bear enclosures, and up until recently when they lost their brown bears, the polar bears and brown bears could be seen in any of the three habitats.

The Henry Vilas Zoo has two bear habitats, and when the grizzly sisters were hibernating, the polar bears were allowed to explore the neighboring habitat. 

The Louisville Zoo, where Lee lived for several years, has a bear habitat designed for rotating polar and brown bears, so Lee knows how this goes. Currently, grizzly bear Otis rotates with polar bears Qannik and Bo, between the big meadow area with the deep pool, and the smaller polar bear alley with a truck to climb into, stairs for exercise, pools of ice and piles of hay, across the way. 

Giving the animals a change of scene, with different layout, play opportunities and interesting scents, is a great form of enrichment.  

Lee in Polar Bear Alley in Louisville. 

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.