My Polar Bear Friends and Friends of Polar Bears: Quintana

Friday, October 2, 2020

Cousins Nanuk and Nanook come to town

Nanook of Gelsenkirchen

Nanuk, is Inuit for ice bear or polar bear, and thus some variation of the name seems very popular when it comes to naming those cute little cubs.

But I believe every bear should have a unique name, which shouldn't be too hard since there are so few of them in zoos. Still, they duplicate names.

Nanuq in Mulhouse, France

Now we have a situation where two young bears who are first cousins, with almost the same name, are moving in together, along with Giovanna in Tierpark Hellabrunn in Munich.

Giovanna with her daughter Quintana in Hellabrunn

Quintana, Giovanna's three year old daughter by the late Yoghi, has just moved to Zoo La Fleche in France, and the polar bear habitat in Munich is quite roomy, with tundra and taiga areas. Two other young female bears have been invited to make it their home. In fact, they have just arrived.

Nanook, with her mother Lara in the water, in Gelsenkirchen ZOOM.

Nanook is the daughter of Bill and Lara, and was born in Gelsenkirchen ZOOM December 4, 2017. Bill came from Zoo Brno in the Czech Republic, and is the son of Cora and the late Umka. Lara was born in Vienna in 2004 and is the daughter of Olinka and Eric. Nanook is the only cub so far from Bill and Lara.

Sesi and Baby Nanuq

Baby Nanuq in Mulhouse, France

Nanuq was born in Mulhouse, France November 7, 2016. Her father is Vicks, son of Olinka and Eric, born in Rotterdam Zoo in 2010 and her mother is Sesi, daughter of Freedom and the late Victor, born in Ouwehands Zoo, both in the Netherlands. Nanuq is the first and only cub from Vicks and Sesi so far.

Sesi and Nanuq

Nanuq's father Vicks

Thus Nanook's mother Lara is sister to Nanuq's father Vicks so they are first cousins.

The Munich zoo plans to give Nanuq a new name, so there won't be any confusion.

All polar bears have a unique number assigned to them too, and in recent years, they all get a microchip so with just a little scanning, keepers can know they have the right bear.

Giovanna in Munich

Giovanna is also mother to Nela and Nobby, born in 2013. Nela is in Emmen Wildlife Park in the Netherlands, and Nobby is in Yorkshire Wildlife Park in the UK.

Giovanna

Giovanna is not totally unrelated to the new girls. She was born in Fasano, Italy, and her father, (Italian) Felix, was the son of Gorki and Polly. Polly's sister Aika and the same Gorki were parents of Eric, who was father of Olinka, grandmother of both Nanuq and Nanook.

Thus Gorki is grandfather to Giovanna, and great grandfather to both Nanuq and Nanook.

Giovanna is also known as the childhood companion of the famous late Knut in the Berlin Zoo, where she was sent while Zoo Hellabrunn was building their wonderful polar bear habitat in Munich.

Olinka of Rotterdam Zoo, mother of Lara and Vicks (among others)

There is an American connection too, as Nanuk and Nanook are both descended from the famous Olaf and Olga of the Omaha Zoo, through their Son Omaha, who is the father of Olinka, who is the mother of Nanuq's father Vicks, and Nanook's mother Lara.

The right side habitat in Munich has a large grassy area with a stream running through, and lots of hills and trees. The left side is rocky, with stones to climb on, and a nice big pool for swimming. Both sides are glassed in, and can be separated, or the door can be left open so all three bears eventually can be together.

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Meet Miss Q of Munich

Hier ist Miss Q aus München

Quintana pool side

Her name is Quintana. Since the Hellabrunn Zoo in Munich has a tradition of naming all animals born in a certain year with the same letter, for months she was called Miss Q. A contest was held, and the winning name was revealed in late March.

Ihr Name ist Quintana: Weil es im ZooHellabrunn in München Tradition ist, die jeweils im Jahr geboren Jungtiere alle mit einem Anfangsbuchstaben zu benennen wurde sie schon monatelang Miss Q. gerufen.Ein Wettbewerb fand statt ,und der Gewinnername wurde Ende März bekannt gegeben.

Quintana sneaks a bite between mom's legs

Quintana was born November 21, 2016, so she is now about 6 months old. Her parents were both born in Italy. Mom Giovanna was, in her youth, the playmate of the famous Knut in Zoo Berlin.

Quintana wurde am 21. November 2016 geboren, somit ist sie nun 6 Monate alt. Ihre Eltern stammen beide aus Italien. Mutter Giovanna war in ihrer Jugend kurzfristig die Spielgefährtin des berühmten Eisbären Knut im Zoologischen Garten in Berlin.

Quintana and Giovanna, with the remains of a melon

With the tragic death of Baby Fritz in Berlin, Quintana is the only polar bear cub in Germany this spring, and she is quite a popular attraction at the zoo, with many fans.

Nach dem tragischen Tod von Eisbärjungtier Fritz im Tiergarten Berlin ist Quintana in diesem Frühjahr das einzige Jungtier in Deutschland, und sie ist schon eine beliebte Attraktion im Zoo, hat schon viele Fans.

Zoo Hellabrunn will give carcasses to predators on occasion

The joy of having a baby polar bear in the zoo was shadowed with the sudden death of Quintana's father Yoghi in April. He was only 17 years old.

Die Freude ein Jungtier im Zoo zu haben wurde überschattet vom plötzlichen Tod von Quintanas Vater Yoghi im April. Er wurde nur 17 Jahre alt.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

When I visited in mid-May, on a Sunday afternoon, just as I arrived a sudden storm caused Giovanna to stand in awe of a loud thunderclap. Rain fell in buckets, and everyone ran for cover. There were to be no good photos on that day, so I returned the next morning. The keepers had arranged a large hunk of meat on a tree, along with watermelons.

Bei meinem Besuch an einem Sonntagnachmittag Mitte Mai kam plötzlich ein Sturm auf und veranlaßte Giovanna erstaunt aufrecht zu stehen wegen einen lauten Donnerknalls. Regen floß wie aus Eimern, alles versuchte sich ins Trockene zu retten. Es gab kaum gute Bilder an diesem Tag, also ging ich am nächsten Moregn nochmal dort hin .Die Tierpfleger hatten ein großes Fleischstück auf einen Ast gespießt und Wassermelonen verteilt.

Quintana is fascinated with the morning meal

Quintana swims and plays with the food

A natural experience for a polar bear

Lick and play

A tasty toy

Giovanna takes a turn in the water

Giovanna went to work on the melons. Quintana was curious about the meat. Eventually the two bears pulled it off the tree, and Quintana dragged the heavy carcass to the water. The cub saw it more as a water toy to be played with than as something to eat. Quintana delighted in pulling it in and out of the water, and diving for it.

Giovanna machte sich gleich über die Melone her. Quintana war sehr neugierig wegen der Fleischbrocken. Dann endlich rupften die beiden Bären es vom Ast ab, und Quintana schleppte den schweren Brocken ins Wasser. Das Jungtier sah es mehr als Spielzeug denn etwas zu Fressen an. Glücklich tauchte sie es in Wasser, zog es wieder heraus und tauchte auch danach.

Click on link below to see the short video:

Sieh hier den Link um das kurze Video zu sehen:

Quintana Video

Quintana is curious about the tree
where her breakfast had been

Tasting the chain

Biting the chain. Quintana is always curious

The young cub is also fond of playing in the small trees and bushes, getting caught in the branches. She runs and runs, with great speed. It is all great fun to her.

Das Eisbärenjunge hat auch viel Vergnügen in den kleinen Bäumchen und Buschwerk zu toben, sich in den Zweigen zu verfangen. Sie rennt und rennt mit viel Geschwindigkeit. Es ist alles ein großer Spass für sie.

"I'll bet you can't find me. I'm good at hiding."

Here is a little video of Quintana lost in the trees.

Hier ein kleines Video von Quintana, in den Bäumchen versteckt:

Quintana in the bushes - video

Quintana is always moving, always doing little tricks.

Giovanna is a very careful mother. For a long time, she was careful to keep Quintana in the very shallow water. Now Mom lets her swim freely in the relatively shallow waters of the grassy enclosure. As of my visit, Quintana had yet to experience the deep water in the adjoining enclosure. The cubs in Columbus and in Aalborg, of the same age, have been exploring their deep pools for some time. Now, several weeks later, I see that she is in the large enclosure with the big pool.

Giovanna ist eine sehr sorgsame Mutter. Lange Zeit war sie darauf bedacht Quintana nur im flachen Wasser zu halten. Mittlerweile lässt sie Quintana frei schwimmen im etwas tieferen Wasser der begrünten Anlage. Während meines Besuches war Quintana noch nicht in das tiefe Gewässer der anschließenden Anlage gelangt. Die Jungtiere im Columbus Zoo und auch in Aalborg, gleichen Alters, hatten ihre Erfahrungen im tiefen Pool schon gemacht. Nun, einige Wochen später konnte ich erfahren, dass sie auch im tieferen Pool gelangt ist.