Adieu to Snow Lilly

 

Snow Lilly in her element.

Snow Lilly's many friends and fans are in mourning the loss of this very special older bear. She was known for her basketball skills, juggling a bright ball above water, and dribbling a ball on the floor of her pool. She was quite  advanced in years, the oldest polar bear in North America, second in age only to Katjuscha of the Berlin Zoo by just a few weeks, but she had kept up her activities, and seemed to be living her best life, right up to the end.  

Snow Lily goes for the win.

Snow Lilly has finished her last ball game. She died on Friday, September 24. 

Snow Lilly

Snow Lilly was born December 5, 1984 in the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, to Penny and Nicklee. She lived in the New York Bronx Zoo from 1985 to 2005. Her older sister Coldilocks died in 2019 at the age of 37.

Snow Lilly watching the sea lions get their fish. She wanted some too.

Her mate was the late Blizzard, brother of the late Little One of the Cincinnati Zoo. In 1991 Snow Lilly gave birth to a boy cub, Tundra, in the Bronx Zoo. Tundra died in 2017, after living his whole life in the Bronx Zoo.

Lots of ball action when Snow Lilly was around.

Snow Lilly moved from New York to the Milwaukee County Zoo in 2005, where she lived with Zero, who had been born there in 1989, and then with rescued circus bear Wilhelm. I visited in 2013, and first saw Snow Lilly on her own during the morning.  She went in, and Wilhelm appeared for the afternoon shift. Snow Lilly wanted to have her own space, so the bears took turns.

Snow Lilly

Snow Lilly was a bear who knew how to have fun, especially with a ball. Her keepers gave her lavish birthday parties with special treats, her favorite was crab legs, and she delighted in opening her presents. 

Snow Lilly at her 36th birthday party, opening gifts.
 Photo courtesy of Michelle Rippey

Snow Lilly loved her balls.

Snow Lilly had many fans, and will be greatly missed. There are now no polar bears in the Milwaukee County Zoo. The end of an era. 

Snow Lilly surveying her kingdom back in 2013.

Farewell, lovely lady.

Snow Lily has a party for her 36th birthday

Snow Lily. Photos by Michelle Rippey

Photos by Michelle Rippey

Thanks to photographer Michelle Rippey, who frequently visits Snow Lily in Milwaukee for giving permission to share her wonderful photos of the Birthday Bear.

It is rare for a polar bear to reach her 36th birthday. This year we have three such ladies: Katjuscha in Berlin Zoo in Germany on November 16, Snow Lily in the Milwaukee County Zoo on December 5, and Winnie in Uni Zoo in Sendai Japan on December 15. These three lady bears are the oldest in the world.

Katjuscha was born in Zoo Karlsruhe to Nadine and Willie. She has a younger sister, Antonia, the only dwarf bear in the world, who now lives in Gelsenkirchen Zoom in Germany and is 31 years old.

Snow Lily was born to Penny and Nicklee in Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester NY. With her mate Blizzard she had a cub, Tundra in 1991, but he died in 2017 in the Bronx Zoo. Snow Lilly has lived in Milwaukee since 2005. 

Winnie was the only cub of the legendary Debby and Skipper in Winnipeg Canada. Debby lived to be 42 years old, a record. Winnie was sent to Japan when she was just under 9 months old.

  

Snow Lily makes her grand entrance to the Birthday Party 

Snow Lilly enjoyed a little pre-birthday party recently. She is a very active bear, and loves to interact with visitors. She also likes to show off her treats and toys to visitors.

Some shrimp flavored treats . She was hoping for crab legs

Her treats were served on a little table and chair set

She later carried one of the chairs into her den

Frozen treats

Here she is showing off her frozen chunk to visitors 

Time for a swim. She is delighted

The Milwaukee County Zoo has a great underwater viewing area 

Shake it off

Snow Lily loves to play with balls. Sometimes basketball dribbling underwater

You might see Snow Lily spelled as Snow Lilly sometimes. Her name is spelled with one "l" by the zoo, and two in the studbook. Either way is fine with her.

Happy 36th birthday, Snow Lily. Maybe you will get crab legs today. Your favorite. 

Farewell to Zero

Zero

We have lost a legendary bear. Zero, who had just turned 26 years old in December, was suffering from lymphoma, and was released from his pain on January 10. His health and energy had been declining for several weeks.

Zero spent a lot of time in the pool, in front of the viewing window

 Zero had lived at the Rocky Coast at the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, New York, with the shy Aurora, a 26 year old lady bear. Aurora has had cubs, but they were not with Zero.

Zero loved to sit under the waterfalls

 

Under the waterfall again

Zero loved his pool 

Zero swimming and swimming

 Zero was known for his big personality and playful nature. He loved to interact with his visitors, splash around with his toys, swim laps in front of the viewing window, and take naps outside so everyone could watch him. He also loved sitting under the pounding waterfalls of the Rocky Coasts.

Zero was always doing something amusing

In front of the viewing window

Zero had many fans. He was also fun to watch

Aurora, on the other had, is happy to spend her time inside unless the keepers put out some food so it is a rare opportunity to see her. Zero was the big attraction at the Rocky Coast.

Zero had lots of toys, but the big blue barrel was a favorite

Roll out the barrel

A balancing act

Playing to the crowd

Clever Zero

 Zero, who was born to Mishka (sister of Patches and Bam Bam) in the Milwaukee Zoo on December 14, 1989, gained worldwide fame for his adventure when, while playing with a toy, he fell into a safety net in an 18 foot deep moat in his enclosure in the Milwaukee County Zoo in October of 2008. He stayed down in the moat for 18 days this time, and garnered worldwide attention, as many sent in suggestions as to how to lure him out of the moat. There were daily news stories on Zero and his status. Zero had done the same thing some years earlier, when he took a week to climb the stairs out of the moat.

Snow Lilly walks along above the moat
 at the Milwaukee County Zoo that Zero refused to leave.

Zero

 This time, even though zookeepers had given him half rations of food in the hopes of luring him out because of hunger, Zero showed no interest in leaving the moat, the zookeepers finally had to anesthetize him and lift him out with a crane.

Zero shaking off the water

Zero, who was named Zero because of the outside temperature on the day he was born, moved to the Seneca Park Zoo in January of 2010, after four years of living with Snow Lilly in Milwaukee and producing no cubs. Snow Lilly had kind of given Zero the cold shoulder, and there was really no romance there. It was hoped that Aurora in the Seneca Park Zoo would find Zero more attractive, and produce cubs, but that did not happen. In 2012, Zero and Aurora were part of a groundbreaking Artificial Insemination experiment, but that did not produce cubs either.

Zero floating by the viewing window

Zero was part of the Olaf and Olga family, whose line is dying out in this country. Olaf and Olga, Mishka's parents, raised seven cubs at the Omaha Zoo (only Bam Bam still survives), and have many descendants in Europe. Zero's uncle Omaha was the father of Olink of Rotterdam, Netherlands, who has eight cubs. In the USA, Zero's uncle Shep was the grandfather of Berlin of the Kansas City Zoo (no cubs). Zero was also the uncle of Berit of the Cincinnati Zoo (no cubs).

Farewell to a well loved bear. We will miss you, Zero.

Patches is packing her bags, and moving to North Carolina

Patches

It was just announced today that 25 year old Patches will be moving from the Erie Zoo to a beautiful new polar bear enclosure at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro.

Es wurde gerade heute angekündigt, dass die 25-jährige Patches aus dem Erie Zoo in ein schönes, neues Eisbärengehege in den North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro umziehen wird.

Patches will enjoy the star treatment when she gets to North Carolina.

Patches will make the move in time to celebrate her 26^th birthday on November 29 in her new home.

Patches wird den Umzug in der Zeit zu ihrem 26. Geburtstag am 29. November in ihrem neuen Zuhause feiern.

Patches plays with a fishy ice ring

Chewing on a stick

Patches came to the Erie Zoo December 11, 2007 from the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, where she lived with her twin sister Bam Bam (officially called Fanny, but everyone calls her Bam Bam). She was 20 at the time, and had lived her entire life with her sister at the zoo in Omaha.

Patches kam in den Erie Zoo 11. Dezember 2007 aus dem Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, wo sie mit ihrer Zwillingsschwester Bam Bam lebte (offiziell genannt Fanny, aber jeder nennt sie Bam Bam). Sie war 20 zu der Zeit, und lebte ihr ganzes Leben mit ihrer Schwester im Zoo in Omaha.

Pretty girl Patches

She had previously given birth to a cub at the Henry Doorly Zoo, but it did not survive. There were expectations that she would become a mother after the move, but it just never did happen. She had several male bears live with her, but they died of various medical problems. She has been all alone for several years.

Sie hatte ein Eisbärjunges im Henry Doorly Zoo geboren, aber es hat nicht überlebt. Man hatte die Erwartungen, dass sie nach dem Umzug Mutter werden würde, aber es ist nie passiert. Sie lebte mit mehreren männlichen Bären zusammen, aber sie starben an verschiedenen medizinischen Problemen. Sie blieb ganz allein für einige Jahre.

A lazy afternoon nap for Patches at the Erie Zoo.
She is known for her amusing facial expressions.

The North Carolina Zoo was home to Willy and Aquila for many years. The much loved Willy moved to the Milwaukee County Zoo and the popular Aquila moved to the Detroit Zoo in 2011 when renovations began at their old home Aquila returned home last spring, but died suddenly in September. Willy died a few weeks later in Wisconsin. These two bears left behind many heartbroken fans.

Der North Carolina Zoo war die Heimat von Willy und Aquila für viele Jahre. Der viel geliebte Willy wurde in den Milwaukee County Zoo verlegt und die beliebte Aquila zog in den Detroit Zoo in 2011, als Renovierungsarbeiten begannen. In ihre alte Heimat kehrte Aquila im letzten Frühjahr zurück, starb aber plötzlich im September. Willy starb wenige Wochen später in Wisconsin. Diese beiden Bären hinterließen viele Fans mit gebrochenem Herzen.

Patches

So the question was, who would live in the newly renovated polar bear home in Asheboro?

Also die Frage war, wer würde nun in der neu renovierten Eisbärenanlage in Asheboro leben?

Patches naps on the ledge in her current home at the Erie Zoo.

The polar bear enclosure in the Erie Zoo is old and the pool is very small. In addition, the Erie Zoo is closed during the winter months, and Patches loves to watch the people come and go, so it must have been a little lonely every winter. The zoo staff took wonderful care of Patches, and always tried to make everything a game for her. They are very fond of her at the Erie Zoo, but this sweet lady bear will enjoy an improved lifestyle in her new home.

Das Eisbärengehege im Erie Zoo ist alt und der Pool ist sehr klein. Darüber hinaus wird der Erie Zoo während der Wintermonate geschlossen und Patches liebt es zu beobachten. Die Leute kommen und gehen, also muss es ein wenig einsam gewesen sein in jedem Winter. Das Zoo Personal machte wunderbare Betreuung von Patches und versuchte immer, aus Allem ein Spiel für sie zu machen. Sie sind sehr lieb im Erie Zoo, aber diese süße Eisbärdame wird eine verbesserte Lebensweise in ihrem neuen Zuhause genießen.

Patches relaxes on a ledge

Patches has a lot to smile about