A Good Day for Polar Bears
Posted at 2:10 pm February 1, 2008 by Kelly Murphy
For those of you who haven’t heard, today marked a momentous occasion: we held a press conference at the San Diego Zoo announcing our new alliance with Polar Bears International. This collaborative effort is geared toward new efforts to save the polar bear. Along with this announcement came the playful antics of Kalluk and Chinook.
Every day we place enrichment on the exhibit for the bears, and today was no exception. We had a few “arctic” palms and several small ice blocks, filled with food items, which were released into the main pool to symbolize the melting ice in the North. As inspiring as the speakers’ words were, no press conference would be complete if there wasn’t any video footage of the polar bears. I’m happy to report, they didn’t disappoint! See video…
Upon release, Chinook did a few laps around the exhibit. This is fairly typical. She likes to check everything out and take it all in before she decides which activity to do first. Kalluk, however, just couldn’t resist all those tasty treats floating in the pool. Then, after he picked through his favorites, he decided it was time to bring the palms in as well. Of course, it so happened that Chinook was laying on them at the time!
It wasn’t long before Kalluk was trying to entice Chinook in for a swim. She seemed to refuse at first, as if she didn’t want to get wet. But her coy maneuvering said otherwise. She would fend Kalluk off, turn around, and walk away. But yet she always chose the path that led right along the edge of the pool, almost daring him to try to push her in. Finally he was successful, or at least that’s what she let him think!
The play continued between them for a while: tug-of-war with the palm or the occasional leap through the air towards the temporary speaker that was placed near the glass window. As late morning approached, the two settled down in the newly filled mulch pit for a short nap. All in all, it was a good day for the Zoo, for the bears, and for the visitors!
Kelly Murphy is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous bear blog, Love is all around the Plunge.
Listen to an iZoofari podcast chat with Kelly…
Here’s information about our collaboration with Polar Bears International…
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Scroll to the end to leave a comment. Pinging is not allowed.
February 1st, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Kelly, it sounds like a very fun day for all. Congratulations on a great event, and for the new partnership.
We look forward to updates on the partnership, and especially on the “romance” between Chinook and Kalluk. I bet she had no clue a year ago when she lost her sister and constant companion, that she would find “love in the air” less than a year later.
February 1st, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Oh how I wish I’d seen this yesterday. They really had a lot of fun didn’t they. I am SO looking forward to the video. Thanks Kelly, you’ve put a smile on my face.
February 1st, 2008 at 4:35 pm
How wonderful! Thank you for the information and the video! Honestly, for those of us Bear Cam watchers there was so much solar glare that all I could take in was that they seemed to be interested in something in the water, and I did see some small palm leaves being pulled out by Chinook before she lay on them. And then, of course, the chasing around the pool and diving in, which happened a bit later. The video shows it so much better. Kalluk really loves her! Did Tatqiq get to enjoy some cubes and palms, too? And am I correct in saying Kalluk also loves carrots?
February 2nd, 2008 at 4:02 pm
I love that picture! The video and description made me chuckle, boys will be boys.
I know its off the topic, but any updates on how Lungile and her calf are doing?
February 4th, 2008 at 3:23 am
it had been sometime I didn’t visit this blog, I still remember the story of a newly born panda, not sure how’s the situation now?
Moderator’s note: A panda cub was born August 3, 2007. You can read updates about our pandas in the Giant Panda blog section http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/category/default/giant-pandas/
February 4th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Ditto the question about an update on Lungile and her calf. Does Lungile get to spend time with her calf even though the calf is being fed intravenously and nursed via bottle? Hopefully the calf is getting some elephant face time so she will be able to be returned to the herd when she is strong enough.
February 6th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
MSNBC’s wesite includes a photo of our love birds Kalluk & Chinook in the Animal Tracks slide show - it’s the photo from above. Pretty cool, huh?
Moderator’s note: VERY cool!
February 8th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
With the new view I haven’t seen a single polar bear today and miss them, but I believe I just caught a glimpse of my first herd of reindeer way in the distance!!! Something moved and it looked like it had antlers!!
February 11th, 2008 at 11:45 am
No bear sightings, still. My favourite cam view is still that of the deep waters where they dive off and tuck things under the rock, with a bit of the stone table in the water, as well as one of the more coveted outside bedding areas in the upper left hand corner. I feel like I miss a lot when I can’t see them playing in the water and now that the glare is not so bad (sun is moving quickly to spring!) you can really enjoy them again.
Hint hint!!
Moderator’s note: We’ve moved it to face the deep end of the pool again. Enjoy, Debi!
February 11th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Thank you! Quick supper and a visit to the plunge for me. Thank you so much!!!!
February 12th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Polar Bear Cam-9am
Maybe later I will figure them out. But it looks like this could be a big play day! Loving the fun in the plunge!
One bear made straight for the water! Dived in, played with red ball, then found something else (net?) which he/she tossed around and dunked and tossed about again! I coudn’t tell who was who, but the water bear tried to entice the eating bear into the water to play and even came out to invite them, but the land bear wanted nothing to do with play, right now. So, water bear dived back in and is now peeking under the rock shelf to see what else they can drag out! I do with they would wear name tags or hold up little signs that say “Hello, Debi! This is Chinook on the rock and Kalluk in the water!!”
February 15th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Gosh. Me again. What a pest!
Fun polar bear question! On the cam they look so small, but obviously are quite large. I was wondering if you could tell us how big they are? For example…if Kalluk or one of the females were on all fours and standing right next to me, how many feet high is their back and how many feet long are they, including their head? Having worked with Thoroughbred racehorses (tame and not bears!!) I am just curious as to how they compare in size to me. It amazes me how graceful and dainty they are in the water and while eating or holding a toy with their paws! And the prettiest of bears, too, I think!
February 15th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
I am very sorry to hear about the baby elephant. I love Elephants both species Asian & African. I am a
member of the Oklahoma Zoological Society. I love Zoos & Aquariums. Thank you very much.
February 24th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
I think I am in love! Who was the bear on today (Sunday) at 4:45pm Polar Bear Cam time? There was a bear sleeping right where the camera had a huge closeup and they woke up and stared right at the camera and rubbed their back and neck on the stone and they are just so gorgeous! And what big teeth when they yawn! And such sweet eyes! The ears looked pointy, so at first I thought it was Tatqiq, but the bear was large (well…it was a closeup!) so it might have been Kalluk. But the bear was also a bit rusty coloured on the legs so it could have been Chinook! Who was it, please?