Kulu's favorite things

 

Aurora and Kulu 

 I had hoped to visit the dozen new cubs born in Europe last spring, but then the Corona Virus came, and all travel came to a stand still. No trip to Europe.

But I have one cub close by. Here in the U.S., only one polar bear cub was born last season. Fortunately, he lives only a two hour drive from my house, and I have membership in the Columbus Zoo. 

During the Coronavirus crisis, the Columbus Zoo was closed for some months, like all the other zoos, and then there were limited timed tickets. I went to visit Kulu in July, and was amazed then at what a huge cub had grown into.

I went again the day after Halloween.  For November 1, I was able to get a timed ticket for the time the zoo would open, so I could spend all day if I wanted to.

When I visited in July, about a quarter of the visitors were wearing masks in the outdoor areas. Masks were not required, but recommended. On November 1, I estimated that 70 to 75 percent of the visitors to the polar bear area were masked up. I wore my mask the entire visit, and avoided anyone who wasn't. There was not a great deal of social distancing, as everyone wanted to crowd up next to the glass where the bears were playing. For much of the time, however, there were few visitors, sometimes no one at all in the entire viewing area. 

Kulu was sleeping when I arrived, at some distance from his mother Aurora, who was also taking a sun drenched nap on the big rock in the center. After a bit, Kulu woke up, climbed  to the top of the big rock, and continued his nap cuddled up next to his mom.

Eventually, Aurora woke and the two played together for awhile.

 Then Aurora climbed down, followed by her son. Kulu is 11 months old, and so big for his age.

Here's Aurora playing with the purple crazy egg.

Kulu plays by himself most of the time, and Aurora plays too, across the pool. She has her favorite toys, and acts like a cub herself.

A strip of green cloth occupied Kulu's attention for a good long time. He threw it into the air, wrapped it around himself, dragged it all over, attacked it, and flew it like a banner. He was having so much fun.  

Another favorite toy is the firehose cube. Sometimes he treats it like prey, stalking and sneaking up, then attacking. Sometimes he grabs it in his mouth, and swings his head wildly to throw it into the air, then dives in and retrieves it under water.

Kulu is like a baby in many ways, and likes to put things into his mouth to taste them, smell them. He loves leaves, and pick them out of the water to play with.

So the two of them spent their day playing in the sun, mostly separately, but then coming together for a little family fun. 

The slanted afternoon sunlight on an autumn day sometimes gives the bears' fur a lovely glow, and throws sparkles onto the water. It was nice to be in a zoo again, with my camera, enjoying the antics of a sweet polar bear cub.

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. 

Sadness at the Como Zoo - Buzz died

Buzz plays

Today the sad news came that one of the Como Zoo twin brothers had died. At only the age of 24, Buzz's health had deteriorated to the point that he had no quality of life. I had not been expecting this news.

Buzz and the bucket

Neil and Buzz were born in the Louisville Zoo December 9, 1995, named for the first men to walk on the moon. Their parents were Skeena and Irsinaki. Their brother Ulu became the father of Berit, longtime resident of the Cincinnati Zoo. Another brother Icee already was father of Berlin and Yukon born in the Cincinnati Zoo. 

The decision was made to neuter them, so the twins could stay together year round. At that time, there were a lot more polar bears in zoos, and everyone thought their genes were well represented. 

Buzz gets into a milk carton

Thus the twins have been together all their lives. They lived in the San Diego Zoo from 1997 to 2001, then came to the Como Zoo in St. Paul Minnesota, where they have enjoyed nice snowy winters. In order for their enclosures to be renovated and expanded, Neil and Buzz moved to the Detroit Zoo for two years, returning to Como in 2010. While in Detroit, they especially enjoyed playing with Talini, the young daughter of circus polar bear Bärle. 

Buzz was a silly boy

Their home in Como now has a center training area, a big area to the right with live trout to catch in the pool, and another big area to the left with a swimming pool, grass and trees, and a lots of dirt piles and a trench.

Buzz on land, Neil swimming. It seemed like it was that way a lot.

Buzz and the Blue Ball

Neil in back, Buzz in front

Buzz on land

Their niece Berlin came to stay for six months in the summer of 2012 when a flash flood wrecked her home in Duluth. Buzz got along very well with the bossy old lady. Berlin is the daughter of their late older brother Icee. Berlin moved on to the Kansas City Zoo. 

Buzz greets his niece Berlin, who came to live with them for awhile after she escaped from her flooded zoo enclosure in Duluth. She was older, the daughter of their brother, so Neil and Buzz were her uncles.
Photo by my daughter, Corinna Troth

The twins also had some grizzly bears take over their right hand enclosure for a couple of years, due to a flood in Minot ND, and polar bear cubs Suka and Sakari also took over that spot for awhile. So it seemed that someone was always coming or going, with lots to do.

Play Ball, or what is left of it.

 Buzz was always the brother in charge, and Neil went along with whatever Buzz said. Buzz also seemed to be more interested in doing things, playing with toys, digging in the trenches, while Neil mostly wanted to swim. 

Buzz with yet another toy

Both brothers were involved with a revolution in medical methods, having been the second and third polar bears to be trained to put their paws into a metal sleeve for blood draws. This eliminates the need to anesthetize the bear. 

More fun toys

It will be hard for Neil with his brother gone. He always looked up to Buzz to lead the way. I am afraid he will be a little bit lost.

Buzz loved to get dirty. And now it is time for a nap. Sleep well, beautiful boy.