Polar bear arrives at Como Park Zoo in St. Paul
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There’s a new polar bear at Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. The zoo announced Friday that the 4-year-old female polar bear from Washington state arrived at the zoo Thursday evening.
Astra, who weighs 700 pounds, is part of long-term breeding effort to support the threatened species, Como Park’s senior zookeeper Allison Jungheim said.
Astra's move from the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma is part of a plan by members of the Polar Bear Population Alliance to maintain a sustainable and genetically diverse polar bear population in the United States, Jungheim said.
She said polar bears are “a keystone species for a lot of institutions.”
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“They're very popular animals. They're very charismatic,” Jungheim said. However, the species “have not had great reproductive success in the past 10 years.”
Jungheim, who serves on the Polar Bear Population Alliance’s management group, said the organization “wanted to make sure that we are trying to continue to increase our population and make sure that we have polar bears for future generations to see and love and enjoy.”
As of Friday, Astra is in a mandatory quarantine and has access to a pool and spacious holding area, Jungheim said. The newbie bear will be able to see, smell and vocalize with the zoo's current polar bears, Kulu, Nan and Neil, although they will remain separated.
Zoo officials hope to give Astra access to the deep-water exhibit in Polar Bear Odyssey as soon as this weekend, dependent on how she adjusts to her new environment in the coming days.
The Polar Bear Population Alliance recommended that Astra be moved to Como to be paired with Kulu, a 5-year-old male polar bear.
Jungheim said in a statement that Astra's move to Como Park Zoo represents a significant milestone.
“Astra is a young, energetic bear with tremendous potential,” she said. Jungheim also said that the female polar bear's genetics are “valuable to the population."
Jungheim and zoo officials said they're optimistic that Astra and Kulu will form a strong bond that contributes to the species' sustainability.
