Thanks for that, TropicWorld54 and Chlidonias - that's good to know. Neither Taronga nor Adelaide had very suitable cubbing dens attached to their old bear enclosures, so both mothers involved must have been quite tolerant animals.
Stupid question coming... AZA as in America or Australia? I only ask as these are the only polar bears in Australia so it would make sense for them to be part of the American breeding programme*. *Similar set-up as the Bronx geladas and EAZA.
Henry will be moving to the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat, Canada in October: Sea World polar bear makes move from Gold Coast to Canada to be part of captive breeding program - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Saw Henry in the news coming to Cochrane and it hadn't occurred to me that Australia has polar bears. Had to look it up. I have a hard time looking at them and thinking cute and cuddly. Having lived in Northern Canada, I see very dangerous animals. How do zoo keepers deal with an animal that can get through steel and a skull too thick to shoot a bullet through? Exactly how much tranquilizer do they go through? And how are they going to get that to Cochrane with so many transfers and hours in transit? How did they get polar bears to Australia in the first place? Are these people mad? Let sleeping dogs lie and take frozen sperm to Cochrane for breeding purposes. That would be much saner. Did anyone working with these bears ever live or work in areas that wild polar bears live in? Best of luck to these crazy people.
Henry has begun his journey to Canada by flying to Sydney today: Sea World to send polar bear from Gold Coast to Canada for breeding program | Australia news | The Guardian
He has arrived at Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat: http://t.thestar.com/#/article/news...im-so-aussie-polar-bear-heads-to-ontario.html
Henry has experienced natural snow for the first time, and appears to be settling in quite well: Gold Coast Sea World's Henry the polar bear settles in to Canadian home
Henry is now a polar bear "artist": ?Polar Picasso?: Young Aussie polar bear stuns with artistic talents - 9news.com.au
Are Sea World hoping Lia will breed this year? In the Southern Hemisphere, polar bear cubs are born May-June so cubs might not be long away if she does breed. Female polar bears are said to mature around 3 years, yet it's interesting to observe almost all mothers of these species not reproducing until they are at least 8 years: Natasha (Auckland Zoo), Lisbeth (Auckland Zoo) and Lia (Sea World) were all 8 years or older at their first birth.
Awesome news that two polar bear cubs have been born! Almost a week on, both cubs are still surviving which is encouraging. Often with polar bear twins born in captivity, one dies either at birth or in the first three days so although as stated, it remains a critical period, the early signs are positive. Lia has successfully reared a cub previously so hopefully these cubs will also thrive. It'd be so great to see other institutions in the region acquire this species, now Sea World and zoos like Singapore have set a standard in curating Ursus maritimus in hot climates with temperature controlled, state of the art exhibits. It will be interesting to see if the father is Nelson (the father of Lia's previous cub, Henry) or his larger, more dominant brother, Hudson.
That is sad news but seems to be very common in captivity. Several litters of polar bear cubs were produced at Auckland Zoo in the 60s, 70s and 80s but only two cubs (from two separate litters) survived the newborn stage (each had a twin who died in the first three days). One died at the age of 11 weeks, the other, Chimo, lived until he was 19 years old. With several sets of twins and even triplets emerging from the dens in the wild, it appears this species does better in terms of infant mortality in the wild. Not that I'm saying polar bears have no place in zoos (personally I'd like to see other zoos in the region acquire them) but there is clearly still a lot to be learnt. Fingers crossed the remaining cub survives. They both looked so strong in the video.
The cub is a female and voting has opened on names: Polar Bear Cub born at Sea World The names are: - Mishka (Inuit for "Little Bear") - Arina (Russian for "Peace") - Katya (Russian for "Pure") - Nukka (Inuit for "Little Sister") My favourite two names are Mishka and Arina. Mishka sounds like a classic polar bear name, though I think it'd suit a mature female bear better than it would a cub (despite its meaning). Arina is a pretty, youthful sounding name that seems like a natural fit for a young female polar bear. It also goes best with Henry out of the four names in my opinion. Do we know who the father is, Hudson or Nelson? Does anyone know if the non surviving twin was male or female?
Mishka The cub has been named Mishka (Inuit for "Little Bear"). Hudson has been announced as the father. Polar Bear Cub born at Sea World
