Our Polar Bears
Cubs
Current Viewing Status
Is Qannik on exhibit?
Click here for daily updates on the most likely
times to see Qannik:
twitter.com/QannikTheCubLZ
(Don't worry you don't need a twitter account)
Bear Management means being flexible with
schedules so these times are "most likely" and
not guaranteed - it's your
"best chance" to see her in
Glacier Run.
Siku:
Siku has completed his quarantine and is now spending time getting
used to more of the behind-the-scenes areas of
Glacier Run. He has even ventured up to Bear Alley a
few times. You will see that the windows to Bear
Alley are covered up again to allow for his gradual
acclimation to the exhibit area. Stay tuned for more
information.
Follow Qannik's official twitter feed at:
Twitter.com/QannikTheCubLZ
Click
here to read notes from the Cub's keepers
Important to Know: To keep all the bears healthy and
engaged, they are rotated in the two major exhibit spaces at
Glacier Run on an unpredictable schedule. Similar rotation
strategies are used successfully in the award-winning
Islands and Gorilla Forest. Click
here to learn more
about how and why we use rotation.
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Photo by Brandon Feusner |
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Qannik
Qannik was born in January 2011 and rescued on Alaska’s
North Slope in April. She took up temporary residence at
the Alaska Zoo before moving to her permanent home in
Louisville in June. Learn more about Qannik's story and
“Operation Snowflake.”
Qannik’s Activities
Qannik’s exploration of Glacier Run is ongoing. Once out of
quarantine her first “home” within Glacier Run was Bear
Alley (the warehouse dock of the fictional mining town known
as Glacier Run). She continues her antics in that space with
an ever-changing set of toys, but now you might see her in
the big outdoor exhibit frolicking in the pool, bolting and
bounding up and down the road that has been washed out by
the glacier, splashing in the creeks, running up and down
the conveyor belt, engaging visitors through the window of
the classroom and generally owning the exhibit space with
her cub playfulness.
Qannik is now in a rotation with the other bears of Glacier
Run. To that end, she might be in bear alley or in the
outdoor exhibit when you come to visit her. Let’s face
it…she is fun no matter where she is. The wild offers
variety for its inhabitants naturally and that is what we
are trying to do with Glacier Run. Variety for our bears. We
have been successful in our rotation approach with our
award-wining Gorilla Forest and Islands and this is the
future of Zoo exhibits. The rotation of animals on and off
exhibit in Glacier Run or any exhibit is designed to enhance
their health and well-being by giving them constant
enrichment opportunities and more choices for interacting
with their environments.
Visit our
Frequently Asked Questions
section for more details about what Qannik is up to.
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Two-year-old Siku on his first
day in quarantine at the Louisville Zoo.
Photo by Kyle Shepherd |
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Siku
Siku, a male polar bear cub, was born December 3,
2009 at the Toledo Zoo to mother Crystal and father,
Marty. He arrived in Louisville on September 6, 2011
weighing in at 585 pounds.
Siku weighed in at 585 pounds. Within 30 minutes of
arrival he was already swimming in his private pool –
having splashed a huge amount of water on his first leap
in. Siku’s name means “ice” in the Iñupiaq language; his name
was chosen by schoolchildren on Alaska’s North Slope.
Press Release – Siku
Arrives (9-8-11)
Adults
