Update on Qannik
Siku, a 585 lb. nearly two year-old male polar bear cub arrived safely in Louisville from the Toledo Zoo on September 6. Siku is the second polar bear cub to move to the Louisville Zoo's Glacier Run exhibit which opened in April 2011. His addition brings the Glacier Run polar bear population to three (there are only 79 polar bears in zoos in North America). He joins seven month-old female, Qannik, the rescued Alaskan cub, Arki, an adult female polar bear and the rescued grizzly bear family of three — Inga, Otis and Rita.
"Siku's move went well thanks to the professional team from the Toledo Zoo" said Louisville Zoo Director John Walczak. "Within 30 minutes of arriving Siku was already in his private pool swimming. He arrives at an exciting time for us with our new bear habitat offering state-of-the-art space for Siku and the rest of our bears. The design of this facility demonstrates our clear commitment to the species and educating zoo visitors about the challenges facing bears and ways they can help by reducing our carbon footprint."
Siku will be off-exhibit in a private den with an adjacent pool and play area for a standard 30 day quarantine before he goes into exhibit rotation with the other bears.
The plan is to eventually introduce Siku and Qannik, however it will not be immediate due to the difference in their sizes. Viewing Status on both bears is available at www.LouisvilleZoo.org
Siku was born December 3, 2009 at the Toledo Zoo. Siku's name, chosen by schoolchildren in Alaska, means "ice" in the Iñupiaq language.
Update on Qannik
Qannik has settled nicely into her new home at Glacier Run following her arrival at the end of June 2011. She was approximately five months-old and 56 lbs at that time. She continues to gain the desired pound or so per day and now weighs 125 lbs. After a quarantine and acclimation period, she is currently on exhibit for a few hours several times a day. These times remain flexible and may vary day-to-day so that her comfort, development and safety can remain a priority. "We don't want to let her anticipate things that are going to happen such as consistent feeding and exhibit times so that she stays curious, stimulated and highly engaged with her environment. We really want to mix it up for her," says Qannik's primary caregiver, assistant mammal curator, Jane Anne Franklin.
Qannik is owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and any major plans including breeding will be decided upon by the organization. Being a wild-born bear, Qannik's offspring would add an important genetic diversity to the captive polar bear population.
Contacts:
forLouisville Zoo
Kyle Shepherd, 502-238-5331
Media
Cell: 502-744-5639
kyle.shepherd@louisvilleky.gov