Lazy summer days with Kali

Kali observes the world

Kali of the Saint Louis Zoo is a giant among polar bears, even though he isn't quite yet five years old yet. So he is still growing, and already weighs 1300 pounds.

Kali at maybe 8 months old

He wasn't always so big, though. Sometime in the winter of 2012-13, Kali was born to a very large wild bear mother in Northern Alaska. in the middle of March, she ventured out to look for food. Her size led a hunter to think that she was a male polar bear, so he shot her. The native hunter soon realized that she was a nursing mother, so followed her tracks back to the snowy den where tiny 18 pound Kali was waiting for his mom to return. The hunter wrapped the cub up in some warm ski pants, and whisked him off on his snowmobile to Anchorage, and the safety of the Alaska Zoo. There Baby Kali was cared for by experienced keepers who had not long before cared for another lost cub, Qannik.

Baby Kali roams around the Buffalo enclosure

After two months at the Alaska Zoo, Kali was flown to the Buffalo Zoo where he would gain a playmate of the same age, little Luna, who had been rejected by her mother Anana and raised by keepers. It would be good for both of the cubs to have someone to play with. At that time, Kali weighed 65 pounds. Luna weighed a little more, but that soon changed. Kali grew at a fast pace and soon passed Luna.

Kali and Luna play

Kali had experienced some trauma in his young life. Even though he had Luna to play with in Buffalo, he missed his mother, and developed a paw sucking habit to comfort himself, while making a loud motor purring noise.

Kali

Click on the video below to see Kali sucking on his paw.

Video of young Kali sucking on his paw

Luna and Kali

Luna and Kali stayed together for two years. During that time, the Buffalo Zoo was undertaking a huge project to replace the outmoded bear pits with a state of the art polar bear exhibit. Luna's parents had moved to other zoos. Luna and Kali, as cubs, had lesser requirements than adults, so spent a lot of time in a fenced in area with a small pool and lots of toys, and then were later moved to the tiger enclosure, where they alternated with the cats.

Playmates teach each other important lessons

Kali and Luna

Luna and Kali

Luna has the toy that Kali wants

Young Kali was shaggier than little Luna.

They played endlessly, for hours and hours

 For a time, the two playmates were separated when Luna fell and broke bones in her leg. By that time, Kali had gained more confidence and could play by himself. Luna was kept inside for months, recovering.

Kali at the window

Kali in Buffalo, shortly after he arrived

Kali moved to Saint Louis in May of 2015, weighing 850 pounds. McDonnell Polar Bear Point, a 40,000 square foot $16 million polar bear exhibit opened in June, with Kali as the only star. 

Shortly after Kali left, in September of 2015, the new Buffalo enclosure, Arctic Edge, opened with Luna present, and her mother Anana, who had just returned from a stay in Brookfield Zoo.

Kali one month ago, chewing on branches

Meanwhile, in St. Louis, Kali was getting to know his enclosure, and making many new friends. His home has several pools, a sandpit for digging, an ice machine and ice pit for cooling off, grassy areas, different levels of terrain, and much to entertain a young bear.

In Saint Louis, Kali has an ice maker and and ice pond

Ice to keep cool on a hot day

Kali notices people at the window

He is now almost five years old, and while he doesn't suck his paw, he still sucks his tongue in the same manner to comfort himself. Click on the video to see how he does this.

Video: Kali still sucks on his tongue

Kali dives with the bamboo in his pool

Bamboo

Love those crunchy leaves

Kali smelling the leaves

Crunching them up

On the day I visited, the keepers had cut some branches to entertain him. He nibbled on the bamboo and played with the other branches. Click on the video to see more.

Video: Kali and the bamboo branches

Kali's noble profile. He has a very large head.

Swimming on a hot August day

Still playing with the branches

It was a very warm day, but still Kali loves to sleep in the sun. The heat does not bother this boy.

Nap time on the upper shelf by the window. 

He weighs in at 1300 pounds. His head is huge. I think he is the largest polar bear I have seen in a U.S. zoo, and he is still growing. And yet, there is something of a baby about him, something vulnerable about this bear who had such a rocky start in life.  

Kali knows how to beat the heat in St. Louis

Kali bleibt kühl in St. Louis

Kali at the ice pit

St. Louis has has just experienced a very hot summer, with heat indexes reaching 110 degrees. How does Kali (pronounced Cully), the 3 year old polar bear cub, keep his cool at Polar Bear Point at the St. Louis Zoo?

Auch der Zoo in St. Louis erlebt einen sehr heißen Sommer mit Höchsttemperaturen von 110° Farenheit. Wie kommt Kali (wird Cully ausgesprochen) der drei Jahre alte Eisbär damit zurecht, wie hält er es kühl im Polar Bear Point im St. Louis Zoo?

Polar Bear Point plan

Kali arrived at this brand new $16 million exhibit in May of  2015, after spending two years at the Buffalo Zoo with playmate Luna, who was about the same age.

Er zog ein in die 16 Millionen teure brandneue Anlage im Mai 2015, nachdem er zwei Jahre im Buffalo Zoo gemeinsam mit seiner Spielkameradin Luna verbracht hat, die ungefähr im gleichen Altrer wie er ist.

Kali bites at the pipe. Luna is at left. The cubs were about 8 months old here, at the Buffalo Zoo.

Kali was born in Alaska in the winter of 2012-13, and when his mother was shot and killed by a native hunter in the middle of March, the tiny cub was found and carried to safety on a snowmobile. He spent several months at the Alaska Zoo, and then flew courtesy of Fed-Ex to the Buffalo Zoo, where that little girl cub named Luna was being raised by keepers after her mother Anana didn't take care of her.

Kali kam im Winter 2012-2013 in Alaska auf die Welt, und nachdem seine Mutter von einem dortigen Einwohner Mitte März getötet wurde fand man das winzige Jungtier und beförderte es mit einem Schneemobil in Sicherheit. Er verbrachte einige Monate im Alaska Zoo und wurde dann mit Fed-Ex zum Buffalo Zoo geflogen, wo schon das Eisbären Jungtier Luna lebte und von Tierpfleger versorgt wurde, da ihre Mutter Anana sich nicht um sie gekümmert hat.

Kali as a cub at the Buffalo Zoo

Buffalo was just beginning its new polar bear facility project, and Anana had already left for the Brookfield Zoo. When Kali arrived, little Luna was the only polar bear in the zoo. The two youngsters soon became best friends, and shared everything.

Der Zoo von Buffalo hatte gerade begonnen, die Eisbären Anlage auf den neuesten Stand zu bringen, Anana war in den Zoo von Brookfield umgezogen. Als dann Kali eintraf war die kleine Luna der einzige Eisbär dort im Zoo. Die beiden Jungtiere freundeten sich recht schnell an und teilten alles gemeinsam.

Kali the cub

Kali missed his mother, and would often resort to sucking on his paw, and making motor sounds, as young cubs do with they nurse. But at least he had a playmate, a companion.

Kali vermisste seine Mutter, er saugte desöfteren an seiner Pfote und man hörte damit die *Motorähnlichen* Geräusche, so wie Jungtiere es machen beim Saugen. Aber wenigsten hatte er nun einen Kumpel zum Spielen.

Here is a link to a short video of Kali sucking on his paw.
Baby Kali sucking on his paw

In nature, cubs usually leave their mothers when they are 2 to 2 1/2 years old. It was about this age that Kali was invited to move to the new Polar Bear Point in St. Louis. The 40,000 square foot habitat is amazing, and Kali is enjoying growing up here, even when the weather is hot.

In der Natur ist es normalerweise so, dass die Jungtiere ihre Mütter im Alter von 2-2 1/2 Jahren verlassen. Ungefähr in diesem Alter kam nun Kali in den Polar Bear Point im St. Louis Zoo. Die ca. 40.000 Quadratfuss große Anlage ist fantastisch, und Kali macht es Freude hier aufzuwachsen, auch wenn das Wetter so heiß ist.

Kali in the early morning, before the visitors arrive

He has a shallow pool where visitors at the front windows can watch him play, and a 50,000 gallon deep diving pool with an air conditioned viewing cave attached, so we can watch him dive and swim. The pools are filled with chilled salt water to keep Kali nice and cool.

Er hat einen flachen Pool von wo aus die Besucher durch die vorderen Scheiben ihn beim Spielen beobachten können und einen 50,000 Gallonen tiefen Pool zum Tauchen mit einer angefügten eisgekühlten Höhle, sodaß man ihn tauchen und schwimmer sehen kann. Die Pools mit mit gekühltem Salzwasser gefüllt, so fühlt Kali sich wohl und hat es kühl. 

Kali and one of his toys

The terrain is varied, with climbing rocks, a sandy bear beach, and a grassy tundra area. He can dig in the sand and climb on the rocks.

Die Anlage selbst variiert, mit Felsen zum Klettern, ein sandiger Strand für Eisbären und eine Tundra Ebene mit Gras bewachsen. Er kann im Sand wühlen und auf die Steine klettern. Eine Eismaschine ist in einer Grube installiert, so kann Kali sich in den Eiswürfeln rollen.

Kali doing the ice floe pounce on a piece of driftwood

 An ice-maker is installed above a pit, so Kali can roll in the ice cubes.


Er rollt sich in den Eiswürfeln aus der Eismaschine. Und er kann auch in Inneranlage gehen wo die Aircondition läuft.

Kali and his ice cubes

The keepers have many ways to help Kali keep cool. He is treated to frosty popsicles on hot days. He can swim in his cool pools. He can roll in the ice cubes from his ice-maker. And he always has the option to go inside into the air conditioning.

Die Tierpfleger haben viele Möglichkeiten Kali zu helfen es kühl zu haben. An heißen Tagen bekommt er häufig gefrorenes Obst in Eisblocks. Er kann in seinen kühlen Pools schwimmen. 

Kali with a fish frozen treat

Even in warm weather, though, Kali usually chooses to take his afternoon nap in front of the high viewing window. 


Jedoch auch an warmen Tagen zieht Kali es meist vor seinen Nachmittagsschlaf am erhöhten Ausguckfenster zu verbringen.

Kali's paws

Kali loves lettuce

Kali lives right next to the cool penguin and puffin house

Kali's visitors can cool off by going through the refrigerated penguin and puffin exhibit next door, which is very cold indeed. Photographers need to cover their lenses, because when you exit at Kali's high window, your camera lens, and your glasses too, will fog over. Visitors can also enjoy the air conditioning in the big pool viewing room.

Kali's Besucher können sich abkühlen indem sie durch die nebenan liegende Pinguin und Puffinanlage gehen-dort ist es wirklich sehr kalt. Fotografen sollten ihre Objektive abdecken, denn wenn man den Ausgang verlässt sind sowohl die Brillen als auch die Objektive bescchlagen. Air Condition für Besucher gibt es auch im großen Raum mit den Show Fenstern für die Poolanlagen.

Kali spots some lard spread on his window

Lick, lick, lick. Yummy lard.

Young visitors get to know Kali

Visitors are always amazed at Kali's size. Although he is still a cub, and not yet four years old, he weighs 1100 pounds. He is a big boy. At his age in the wild, young polar bears are usually on their own so Kali does not mind being solitary. He finds plenty of ways to play and have fun.


Besucher sind immer erstaunt wegen der Größe von Kali. Abwohl er noch ein Jungtier ist und noch keine vier Jahre alt ist wiegt er schon 1100 pounds. Er ist ein großer Junge. In der Wildnis, in seinem Alter sind die Jungtiere üblicherweise auch allein. Er findet genug Wege sich zu vergnügen und Spaß zu haben.

Here is a link to Kali playing around:

Kali and bucket

Kali loves to play with the kids

The St. Louis Zoo is an amazing place. Sited on the grounds of the 1904 World's Fair, the zoo features an original metal aviary which was a main attraction at the World's Fair. And even better, this first rate zoo is free to the public.


Der Zoo von St. Louis ist wundervoll. Errichtet auf dem Gelände der Weltausstellung von 1904 -der Zoo beeinhaltet ein Original Vogelhaus aus Metal, welches bei dieser Weltausstellung eine große Attraktion darstellte. Und fast noch besser-dieser erstklassige Zoo ist Eintrittsfrei für das Publikum. 

A view from the top. Here Kali is right under the ice-maker

Kali still makes the purring noises that he did as a cub.

Kali diving for his tyre

Morning visitors

Hi Five

Thank you to Marga Andresen Gransow for the German translation.