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Were Polar Bears ever at Houston?

Discussion in 'Zoo History' started by TheImmigrant1, 4 Feb 2023.

  1. TheImmigrant1

    TheImmigrant1 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    23 Jan 2023
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    Location:
    Houston
    I was chatting with a friend not too long ago about the Houston Zoo and some animal they used to have but no longer do. Koalas used to be in the now gone Red Panda enclosure a while ago, Hippos used to have their own Hippo House, they had a Snow Leopard in the now Cougar enclosure, Red Wolves in old maps, and footage from the 80s on YouTube shows they had Bison, Kangaroos, Fennec Foxes, and Camels. But the one animal I can’t find any proof of is polar bears, my friend asked their dad and he said that they did. Apparently they were in what was once the Andean Bear enclosure now the Black Bear enclosure and had a moat of water where moss grew and stained the bear’s coats green, but I can’t find anything to see if this is true. I tried looking at the zoos website on the way back machine, old YouTube videos, and found nothing. So does anyone remember if Houston ever had polar bears?
     
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  2. csartie

    csartie Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    18 Mar 2018
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    Location:
    North Carolina
    The studbooks lists a pair;

    - an unknown male, born August 7th, 1967 and transferred to Houston on May 7th, 1968.

    - a female, listed in Ulrike Joerres' database (Eisbären im Zoo - Polar Bears in Zoos) as "Sedna", born at the Buffalo Zoo to Maggie and Herman on November 27th, 1967 and transferred to the Houston Zoo on September 12th, 1968.

    The male died February 9th, 1976, with Sedna following on July 17th, 1983.

    Outside of those two sources I haven't been able to find any information through (admittedly brief) searches either!
     
  3. TheImmigrant1

    TheImmigrant1 Well-Known Member

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    Location:
    Houston
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  4. Jake From State Farm

    Jake From State Farm Member

    Joined:
    21 Apr 2019
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    Location:
    Houston
    Here's a photo of a pair of bears in Houston, dated around the 1930s.
    [​IMG]

    2009-0006-0149
     
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  5. StoppableSan

    StoppableSan Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    USA
    That looks more like Detroit's old bear grotto to be honest.
     
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  6. Jake From State Farm

    Jake From State Farm Member

    Joined:
    21 Apr 2019
    Posts:
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    Location:
    Houston
    I got the photo from the Houston Public Library's digital archive. ( 2009-0006-0149 ) I assumed its Houston but possible it could be Detroit.
     
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