Fritz the hippo turns two!

Fritz goes for the gold in the baton grabbing competition.

 

Over the weekend, the famous Fritz, also known by friends as Tater Tot, celebrated his second birthday at Hippo Cove in the Cincinnati Zoo, along with his mom Bibi, his even more famous sister Fiona, and his father Tucker. All these photos were from Saturday's birthday celebration. I arrived just after the cake ceremony.

Fritz with his tasty "birthday cake." Photo by my friend Lisa Hubbard.

Early birds could witness Fritz getting his "birthday cake," which was an extravaganza, some colorful fruit popsicle treats stacked on top of huge lettuce leaves.  The entire bloat got some watermelon on Friday, to celebrate National Watermelon Day, which was actually Saturday. 

No, Fiona, it isn't your birthday.
(But she posed anyway in the frame.)

The Cincinnati Zoo's enrichment team had painted a birthday balloon frame, like a birthday card, onto the viewing window. Fiona took her turn posing there, pretending it was her birthday too. Since Fiona was born in January, her birthday parties are often impacted by the cold and winter weather, so this was her chance, while brother Fritz was busy playing with his favorite stick.

Fiona, now age 7, is famous the world over for her miraculous survival after being born six weeks prematurely, weighing only 29 pounds instead of the 50-100 pounds that a full term hippo baby weighs, and being unable to stand to nurse. She was raised by the keepers, and had several medical interventions to save her. Eventually, she was reintroduced to her mother Bibi, and then her father, Henry. Her journey was covered heavily on social media at the time, and since then, numerous books have been written about her. Her fans come from all over the world to see her and her hippo family at the Cincinnati Zoo. And now Fritz has gotten some notoriety too, mostly for being Fiona's little brother. 

Fritz likes to stalk unsuspecting logs, sneaking up and then attacking.
 The logs don't know what hit them.

Fritz on the prowl for logs.

Got one! Fritz does it over and over again.

Fritz really likes the long stick.
 Lots of paparazzi around to capture the moment. 

The happy birthday boy

More paparazzi,

A smile from the birthday boy.

There goes Fritz, running through the birthday frame with his family.

Fritz with his extra long stick, a favorite toy on his birthday.

Fritz also spent some time chasing his daddy Tucker around and giving him some bites, as Fritz likes to do!

Fritz gives daddy Tucker some bites. It's one of his favorite games.

Some fans even wore special Fritz birthday t-shirts for the occasion and were happy to pose with Zoo Director Thane Maynard, who stopped by to wish Fritz a happy birthday.

Fritz is only two years old, and will remain at Hippo Cover for a few more years, but will have to leave as he grows up. Although Daddy Tucker is quite tolerant and loving now, when Fritz gets older, the older hippo bull will see him as competition, and there would be fights. When the time comes, Fritz will be sent to another zoo, where he can start his own family.

We all know that Fiona isn't going anywhere. 

Qannik and the dating game

Qannik paces in Polar Bear Alley in the Louisville Zoo last week.

 It has been an eventful year for Qannik, the young lady polar bear in the Louisville Zoo. She became an eligible bachelorette recently when she was  okayed for breeding by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, who owns her because she was a wildborn cub rescued in Alaska.

Here's Qannik celebrating her 13th Birthday with a Taylor Swift theme.

She celebrated her 13th birthday in January. Then in the middle of February, Borealis, a five year old prospective suitor, arrived from Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison Wisconsin.

I talked to one of the keepers last week about how things are going between the two potential lovebirds. The keepers gradually introduced the bears and have tried to put them together, but Qannik isn't ready yet. The bears are still separate, but Bo is always aware of where Qannik is. 

Young Bo, in Henry Vilas Zoo

Borealis, usually called Bo, was born in the Toledo Zoo, the son of Crystal and the late Marty. He was a single cub, so had the full attention of his mother, who dutifully played with him until he left Toledo for Wisconsin.

Baby Bo and Mom Crystal in the Toledo Zoo in 2019.

Bo being attentive to older lady Berit at Henry Vilas

At Henry Vilas Zoo, Bo was introduced to a senior citizen lady bear named Berit, who became his new playmate. Bo hated being separated from Berit, and would cry and cry. It is a good thing that mostly they were together. 

So Bo has never known what it is like to be solo. 

Qannik in Louisville at age 8 months.

On the other hand, Miss Qannik has been a single lady since she arrived in Louisville as a lost cub. She was raised by keepers, and relates to humans very well. She has always been aware of other bears, sharing the downstairs area with a grizzly family, and at times with other polar bears, just across the way so she could see them, smell them and hear them, but never had to interact with the other bears.

Siku in Louisville. Siku is older brother to Bo.

When Qannik first arrived in Louisville in the summer of 2011, older lady polar bear Arki was there, and also Arki's young grandson Siku, who was just a bit older than Qannik. As Siku grew into his male hormones, he was anxious to be near Qannik. But mingling was forbidden, as wild bear Qannik was property of Fish and Wildlife, and was not allowed to be part of the breeding program. 

Arki in Louisville. Both Siku and Bo are her grandsons.

Arki died of old age in 2013. Siku left for Chicago in 2016, and then it was just Qannik and the grizzly family in Louisville. The mother grizzly and her two cubs were rotated in the two public enclosures, along with Qannik.

The mother grizzly and her daughter were moved to another zoo, so then it was just Otis the  male grizzly left as a neighbor in Glacier Run. 

Otis and Rita, two of the three grizzlies at the Louisville Zoo.
Qannik's neighbors.

In 2020, the Columbus Zoo sent new father Lee to the Louisville Zoo, to make room for his son young Kulu. Lee remained in Louisville for about two years, but never was introduced to Qannik, who was still restricted as to breeding, which was probably very frustrating for Lee, to be so close to a young female but unable to do anything about it. However, Qannik was indifferent to his presence. And then he was gone,  returning to Columbus.

Qannik has always been aware of her star quality, and spends time at the window of the big pool area visiting her fans.
 She is especially fond of little girls wearing pink.

So for all of her 13 years, Qannik had been neighbors with various other bears, but lived as a solitary bear. And she has been perfectly happy that way. She has always been attracted to the youngest human visitors, sitting at her favorite window, posing for pictures, and playing with them through the glass.

Qannik with a young visitor.

 Last winter, things changed, and Fish and Wildlife finally relented and gave permission for Qannik to be paired with a male bear for breeding.

Bo

Borealis, born in Toledo to Crystal and Marty, was chosen as Qannik's potential mate, probably because he is young and used to playing second fiddle to an older lady bear. 

Young Bo arrived in Louisville in February, but had to wait through the mandatory 30 day quarantine, and by the time he could slowly be introduced to Qannik, the breeding season was almost over. Bo was quite eager, but Qannik was not so sure, so the window of opportunity passed. 

Qannik at the top of the stairs.

The keepers are not pressing the issue. Qannik and Bo remain separated. Although the two bears don't share the same space, Qannik and Bo have many opportunities to get acquainted at a mesh gate, where they can sniff each other, and rub noses if they wish. Bo is trying to impress Qannik, and she, while not entirely cooperative, often shows curiosity about Bo, goes over to the gate and sniffs at him, then walks away. They also see each other in the downstairs bedroom area, across the way.

Qannik's genes are unique in the US zoo polar bear population. Bo is related to many bears, but Qannik, rescued as an orphan cub, is related to no one. 

Currently, Qannik weighs about 500 pounds, while Bo weighs 950 pounds.

Things will change in a few months when the bears' hormones start to run high during breeding season, and the keepers are hopeful that Qannik, who has lived an isolated life until now, will start to see Bo as a romantic partner. Bo certainly hopes so. We should start to see a change in their relationship in January or February, and the bears may finally get together.

Qannik during the keeper talk last week. She enjoyed a bucketful of fish while one of the keepers told visitors Qannik's story,
 and answered questions.

This year's polar bear cubs -

 

Mother Frimas with Nivi and Elva, from my visit in 2019.

For the 2023-24 season, we have reports of only three cubs born and surviving this year, one in the Netherlands and twins in a remote northern area of Russia. 

Frimas and Wilbär are the parents of little Otis in Dierenrijk, a zoo between Mierlo, Eindhoven and Nuenen in the Netherlands.

Otis was born November 28, and his birth was announced on November 30. He just made his public debut a week ago. Otis is very popular, and already there are many photos of him with him mom, many of the photos showing how much Otis likes to get dirty. 

Baby Otis this week. (Photo by Hans Muskens)

Frimas, was wildborn in Canada in 2002 (estimated), and has been in Nuenen since 2011. She has already raised three sets of twins:  Pixel (m) and Noordje (f) born in 2012, Nicky (f) and Simona (f) born in 2015, and Nivi (m) and Elva (f) born in 2018. Henk, one of Huggies' triplets born in 2005, is the father of all three sets of triplets born to Frimas. He lives in France now.

Mother Frimas an Baby Otis. (Photo by Hans Muskens)

Otis' father Wilbär was born to Anton and Corinna in the Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart Germany in 2007, their only child. He moved to Orsa Predator Park in Sweden where he fathered daughter Miki born in 2020 with Ewa, and twin boys Noori and Nannok in 2021 with Hope. Sadly, Miki died of a heart condition at age 3 as she was being moved with her mother from Orsa to the UK. Hope, along with her twin boys, were also moved from Orsa to Peak Wildlife Park in the UK last fall, after Orsa Park closed.

Otis has some interesting great uncles and a great aunt. Antonia, the famous dwarf polar bear of Gelsenkirchen ZOOM, at age 34 is also the oldest polar bear that we know of. Antonia is the half sister of Wilbär's late father Anton. Both Anton and Antonia were born in Zoo Karlsruhe.

Wilbär's uncle Nanok II, who was half brother of Corinna, was also the father of Malik of Aalborg Zoo.

Corinna's older half brother Wilhelm, also called Willie, also born in Copenhagen, was sold to the East German Circus and ended up in a Mexican Circus, where he and five other polar bears were rescued in 2002 in Puerto Rico and taken to US zoos.  Their rescue was worldwide news. Wilhelm enjoyed a good life for ten years at the North Carolina Zoo and later the Milwaukee County Zoo. 

Father Wilbär, next door (Photo by Hans Muskens)

As the Russian twins, born in the Yakutsk Zoo (Orto-Doydu), the children of wildborn mother Kolymana, are quite remote, we haven't had much information on them. The Yakutsk zoo has announced that the twins will be allowed outside at the end of March. It is very near the Arctic Circle, so it is still quite wintry there. The gender of the cubs is not known. Father of the cubs is Lomonosov, son of Uslada. Kolymana and Lomonosov are parents of daughter Chaarchana (2016) and son Almaz (2019).

UPDATE on March 26: The cubs' birthdate has been announced as December 4. They are a boy and a girl, and there will be a naming contest.

“The cubs feel good, they run actively, tumble and play pranks, but they are always close to their mother. They have grown up and can confidently go out of the house in which they were born into the inner room. Kolymana also feels good, she has a lot of worries, every little bear needs an eye and an eye, but she’s doing great, she’s coping,” said Natalya Safonova, head of the scientific and educational department of the zoo.

The Yakutsk Zoo is about 450 miles south of the Arctic Circle, and quite remote, even from the city of Yakutsk.

In 2012, Kolymana was found as a wandering lost cub, all alone in the world, by members of the Bear Patrol in the ice of the East Siberian Sea in Nizhnekolymsky ulus. She was rescued and brought to Orto-Doydu,  the zoo which is just south of Yakutsk.  

Lomonosov, born in 2011, is the same age as Kolymana. He is the son of the late Uslada and Menshikov, who produced 16 offspring at the Moscow Zoo.

The Russian twins' birth was announced on January 29, but we don't know when they were actually born, and so far just an early den video, no photos. 

As the zoos in Russia and Europe are pretty much at capacity, there has been an intentional slowdown on breeding, and this is why there were so few cubs born last year and this year.

In the Fall of 2023, there were several births in Japan, but they did not survive. Also Friida in Tallinn Estonia had triplets, but just as in the previous two years, they did not live, and Friida is now thought to be too old and they will not try again. 

Last year

In 2022, Anouk was born in Hamburg, Germany, to Viktoria and Kap, the only cub in Europe. Twin girls Belka and Strelka were born in Novosibirsk Russia to Gerda and Kai, also in 2022. And in the USA, where there is plenty of room for more cubs, last year Crystal gave birth to twin boys Kallu and Kallik, with Nuka as the father. No cubs were born in the USA this year.

Thank you to my friend Hans Muskens for allowing me to use his photos of Otis and his parents in Dierenrijk.

A boyfriend for Qannik

                                          The lovely bachelorette Qannik

Wildborn Qannik is 13 years old now, and about to get her first boyfriend.

Bo playing with a pipe feeder in Henry Vilas

 Borealis, or Bo for short, made the trip from Henry Vilas Zoo in Wisconsin to Glacier Run in Louisville a few weeks ago, and is now out of quarantine, the zoo has announced. Bo has been exploring the outdoor habitat and maybe in a few weeks, he will spend some time with Qannik. 

Qannik of Glacier Run

Qannik has never shared space with another bear, but she is quite familiar with having male bears as close neighbors. Bo's brother Siku used to live in Glacier Run, and he would watch Qannik across the way in the other enclosure. But since Qannik is property of Fish and Wildlife, she was not allowed to be part of the breeding program until just a few months ago. Lately, she has been enjoying the companionship of a wild Night Heron, who has adopted the bear habitat as its home. It will be interesting to see how Bo reacts to the bird.

Qannik and her "pet" Night Heron.

Qannik, here with a big smile, loves the water. Bo does too.

Qannik also is familiar with Lee, who lived at Glacier Run for some time, but is now back in Columbus with Bo's much older sister Aurora. Each of the male bears in Glacier Run was close by in a downstairs bedroom area, so Qannik would see them and smell them and even growl at them. But to have no bars in between, that will be something new for our girl.

Bo was very interactive with people
 when he lived in Toledo with his mom Crystal

Qannik was raised by keepers after her rescue from the oilfields of Alaska, first in the Alaska Zoo, and then after she was flown to Louisville in late June of 2011.

Bo loves toys. Here is is in Toledo as a baby.

Bo is the five year old son of Crystal and the late Marty, so he is closely related to most of the younger bears in the USA zoos. Qannik, being rescued from the wilds of Alaska as a tiny cub, has valuable genes. 

Baby Bo

Berit, on right, showed Bo the proper way to court a lady.

Bo has been living with older lady bear Berit for three years in Henry Vilas Zoo, so she has taught him how to get along with a female roommate. Bo is young, so will probably not be dominant with Qannik, who is used to being a diva.

Qannik in her rocker toy, not long after she arrived in Louisville.

Baby Qannik with a crazy egg.

They do have some things in common. Bo always loved to swim in the pool at Henry Vilas, and Qannik is quite the water baby too. She really enjoys her underwater adventures in the deep dive pool at Glacier Run. So maybe they will have some fun together in the water. 

Qannik and one of her pickles. She has gone through quite a few.

The two potential sweethearts also like their toys. Qannik will have to learn to share her giant pickle. 

Qannik at her 13th birthday.

So now Louisville is about to get its own version of "The Bachelor." Here's hoping it is love at first sight for our two polar bear sweethearts.

A new "Era" for Qannik

Qannik at her birthday party in 2023

 It's time to celebrate Qannik's birthday with a party, and also to look ahead to what her future might hold. This year the party had a Taylor Swift theme with an environmental twist.

The keepers setting up the party on January 20, 2024.
Qannik was gifted a new giant pickle by a fan.

This past Saturday, Louisville Zoo celebrated Qannik's 13th birthday with a Swifty theme, on a sunny but bitterly cold day. Perfect for a polar bear.

A new ball, a t-shirt slogan, and an icy treat for Qannik.

Qannik got a new red ball and a new giant pickle, plus lots of her favorite pumpkin chunks. The specially designed posters were affixed to blocks with yummy peanut butter, and Qannik had fun ripping off the posters and licking the peanut butter.

Qannik comes down the ramp to the "stage"
 which was set with song lyrics and Swifty sayings.

Qannik performs some clever dance steps for her fans.

The zoo decided that because Qannik was entering her teen years, a Taylor Swift theme would be appropriate. The keepers had fun putting together the song lyrics and Swifty sayings that decorated the "stage."

Qannik inspects the Conservation ERA poster, featuring her photos.

Qannik in front of her ERAS poster.

Qannik's version of the ERAS poster

                                   Promoting Conservation the Qannik way. 

                                  "Cruel Summer" is a Taylor Swift song.

                               Delicious poster for Qannik's RED album.

                                       Qannik shows off how tall she is.

So many pretty bear pictures on the poster.

Qannik's special guest at her party was the Night Heron,
 a native bird to Kentucky who has made Glacier Run his home for the past year. Qannik doesn't seem to mind.

Click on this link below to see my story and photos in Knuti's Magazine featuring more pics of the Night Heron with Qannik:

Knuti's Magazine story on Qannik

The number of polar bears in US zoos has been in decline for several decades. While there were once 300 or so polar bears in US zoos, the number is now down to below 40. All the younger bears are closely related, which makes pairing them off more difficult. 

A poorly thought through federal law passed in 2008 banned the import of polar bears from other countries.  Whereas we used to trade polar bears to Europe and even Japan, and brought in bears as well, that was stopped. Crystal, our most prolific mother and grandmother, was born in Belgium, and without her, there would be no young ones here in the US. 

Crystal of the Toledo Zoo, with one of her current twins.

To complicate matters, rescued polar bear cubs from Alaska had been deemed to be the property of Fish and Wildlife and under their jurisdiction. For many years, these bears, even though they were born in the US, could not be part of the breeding program. That is changing, and thus Qannik can be matched with a male polar bear now.

It isn't just Qannik who has been affected. A young female polar bear named Zara was rescued last year and now lives at the Alaska Zoo. She is two years old.

The San Diego Zoo has three wildborn bears, but female Chinook is too old to breed, and 23 year old brother and sister twins Kalluk and Tatqiq are bonded and would not do well apart. Tatqiq has been on birth control for many years, so she cannot reproduce, but Kalluk might be considered for breeding as his wild genes are valuable. I have understood that Chinook, Kalluk and Tatqiq were grandfathered anyway, and not included in the breeding ban of wild bears.

 Kali, the male polar bear who was rescued when his mother was shot by a hunter, and who lived in the Alaska Zoo, then the Buffalo Zoo as a companion to young Luna, and now in the St. Louis Zoo, has been living alone for years, but maybe now can be matched with a suitable female from our core family from Crystal.

Of course zoos that currently have a polar bear or two are not happy to give them up, so it will probably be a struggle to find a mate for Qannik. Since she is wildborn, her genes are quite valuable, and she is not related to any of the other zoo bears.

20 year old Payton, who was born in the Brookfield Zoo and later lived in the Memphis Zoo and then the North Carolina Zoo, was chosen to move to Louisville to be a mate to Qannik, but sadly he died two hours into his journey on October 25. It was later found that he had some heart disease and a tumor, but no definitive cause of death has been announced. 

So now we wait to see if our bachelorette bear will find a suitable companion. She has never lived with another polar bear, but she is quite familiar with both Siku of Lincoln Park and Lee of Columbus, for these males have also spent time in Louisville, living next door to Qannik, so she knows them in that way, accustomed to their scent and seeing them often, but not sharing a space exactly.

Siku during his years in the Louisville Zoo.

I am sure that both Nuka and Lee, as proven breeders, were on the list as possible suitors as Suka and Aurora waited through the denning up season, but as no cubs were born, these guys will not be moving, most likely.

Five year old Bo, who was born in Toledo and is now living with older lady bear Berit in Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison Wisconsin, might be a good choice, as he is young and just beginning his breeding years. Berit has given him the social skills to interact with a lady bear. Crystal's year old twin boys, Kalluk and Kallu, will be needing a place to which to move in about a year, and they could move in with Berit at Henry Vilas. 

Bo at Henry Vilas.

Qannik is quite people oriented, and something of a diva, so I suspect it will take some time for her to accept a boyfriend. She might do best with Bo, since he is young and probably willing to follow her lead. Breeding season is almost underway, so there will probably be no action this coming season.

So now Qannik waits to see who is coming to keep her company.

Qannik, our latest Bachelorette. 

Here's Qannik in 2020, showing that she can "Shake It Off."