North American Polar Bear Population 2023

I've been googling "[Detroit] zoo polar bear" every other day to see if there is any news. I regular check social media platforms and have seen nothing about major transfers there, either.

 

Transfers aren't usually announced before they occur, and often not until an animal leaves quarantine. I'd be extremely disappointed if males don't return to Columbus and Detroit this year, although I'm not holding hope on the former with their AZA accreditation debacle, unfortunately. We need as many cubs as we can get, with the current state of the SSP, and the best chances are with the proven breeding pairs (Lee x Aurora and Nuka x Suka).

 

"Usually" is the key word. I believe Nuka's move to Toledo last year was announced before it occurred, even if we didn't know where he was going. If you think it is pointless to search for information, why did you ask for it?

 

I never said it's pointless to search for information. What I said is that just because a transfer hasn't been announced doesn't mean it's not in the works, and that I hope that Nuka and Lee are both transferred. If you want to search for information, by all means go ahead and search for information, I'd never tell anyone that it's "pointless" to, even if I acknowledge that the information in question won't always be available.

 

Columbus is going to apply for accreditation this spring. Plausible they’re fully back in the relevant programs by the end of the year.

 

Unfortunately, the year isn't what's important. The breeding season is. If Columbus can't get a bear until they are accredited, it'll be an almost certainty that the bears won't be introduced until after the breeding season, which typically starts in March, especially once you factor in pre-shipment exams, quarantines, introduction periods, etc.

 

Lee is back in Columbus

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Wonderful! Hopefully Columbus will have a cub or two this fall/winter. Very amusing that they’re announcing this transfer just as the situation at Columbus was being discussed in this thread.

 

This feels like a dumb question and I apologize for it -- there were until recently two bears in the population named Anana, I am fairly sure. The individual at North Carolina is the one that was previously held at Lincoln Park, and the one that is recently deceased is a different animal, right?

 

It's not a dumb question, no need to apologize. Until two years ago, there were actually three Ananas in the population. Yeah, zoos need to get more creative with naming animals, I know it's confusing. In 2020, Anana passed away at the Detroit Zoo, and in 2022 Anana passes away at the Columbus Zoo, leaving Anana living at the North Carolina Zoo. The Anana at North Carolina Zoo is the Anana who was at Lincoln Park Zoo from 2002-2014.

However, that's not the only Anana who's been in Chicago. While Buffalo Zoo was building their new polar bear exhibit, Anana was sent to the Brookfield Zoo where she lived 2012-2015. This Anana later moved to the Cincinnati Zoo, and passed away in 2020 at the Detroit Zoo.

 

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Luna and Sakari were re-introduced at Buffalo Zoo this week. Hopefully this year will be the year for cubs out of Buffalo again

 

IIRC Columbus has generally been participating in SSP programs since they lost accreditation, to a degree at least. They will get accreditation quickly, the AZA already has their 2023 Annual Conference scheduled to be in Columbus in September, while not a shoe in, it would be very awkward indeed to have the meetings at a ZAA and non-AZA facility.

 

The Columbus Zoo's Facebook page reported that Lee has been reintroduced to Aurora for this year's breeding season. Hopefully we will hear of some cubs this winter!

I'm on my phone and have no clue about how to get a link.

 

Here is one from Instagram:

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium on Instagram: "Together again, just in time for Valentine's Day…Lee and Aurora. ❤️ Following a medical exam prior to his arrival and a behind-the-scenes quarantine period that allowed for an additional health evaluation, Lee was re-introduced to Aurora this morning and is now available to be seen by the public in the Polar Frontier region of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. They have spent the morning swimming, napping, and exploring their habitat together. To protect this at-risk species, they’ve been re-introduced in the hopes of producing cubs in the future as part of @zoos_aquariums' (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP), which is designed to maximize genetic diversity and increase the population of threatened and endangered species in human care. Please help us welcome Lee back by visiting the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium!"

 

I was just on the phone with a Detroit Zoo representative and was told that Nuka is currently in transit! I was also informed that Astra and Laerke will not be leaving the Detroit Zoo this year. It is true that staff working in customer service jobs do not know everything, but I am inclined to believe her about Nuka's transfer (Toledo isn't that far from Detroit, so I'm not sure that he is being moved right now), because it isn't really something that could be mistaken. As for Astra and Laerke, plans might not be made as of now, but there isn't a specific timeframe for when transferring them must occur, because they aren't at breeding age.

 

Detroit also easily has the space to keep Astra and Laerke while breeding Nuka and Suka. We're so used to talking about Toledo and Columbus on here who, while they are successful breeding programs, can't breed while the previous cubs are still at the zoo, hence transfers to a temporary holder before they become breeding age. That's not as necessary in Detroit's case since they have multiple large exhibits.

 

I'm aware. I just think that the cubs should soon be at other zoos, such as the Seneca Park Zoo or any facility that currently doesn't have any, but would like to be home to a polar bear. There are probably a lot more options for Laerke, depending on whether she is recommended to breed or not.

 

There’s absolutely zero point in transferring them right now.

Detroit is an excellent facility that more than has the space to house them, along with the breeding pair and any future cubs produced later this year. The two young girls can be held together to socialize with each other and neither of them are excluded from the breeding population, contrary to the false opinions one or two members on here are trying to put across.

Honestly it would just make the most sense to hold them at Detroit for another 2 years, then send them off to whatever facility they will be destined to breed at (or alternately, hold them at Detroit along with their mother, send out Nuka, then bring in a new breeding male for all three).

 

I apologize if I’m one of the members you imply. I simply meant to say it is not a certainty that she will join the breeding program due to her medical history. She is SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than her sister and there would be much more risk introducing her to a 1,200 lb. male if she does not play catch up with her sister soon. She is also hand raised and unlike Luna, the only hand raised bear in the breeding pool right now, she was not peer raised and was removed from her mother because she was not doing well as opposed to the mother not displaying the necessary maternal instincts. Again I apologize if you are referring to me, I’ve tried to use as little certain language as possible but Ik this site is certainly quick to reach at anything and everything. I’ll keep it more zipped from now on, Hyak don’t hate me please (insert laughing emoji to convey joking tone).

 

Other than potentially inspiring guests at more zoos and increasing education, maybe.

To my knowledge, you have never once presented this as fact.

No one can have a false opinion. Also, you do not know for certain that Laerke is going to breed, so you probably shouldn't be so harsh.