Species: Polar bear (Ursus maritimus)
Sex: The Detroit Zoo’s Arctic Ring of Life is home to four polar bears, two males and two females, in two different groups, with one male and one female in each group. Nuka and Talini, both age 7, are a breeding pair. Aquila (uh KEE la), 19, and Talini’s mother Bärle (BEAR la), 27, are the other pair. Bärle is one of the bears that was rescued from the Suarez Circus in 2002.
Home: Arctic ice sheets in Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland, and Norway. At the Detroit Zoo, the bears live in the Arctic Ring of Life, a four-acre environment that includes grassy tundra, a freshwater pool, a “pack ice” area, and a 170,000 gallon salt water pool. The habitat is the largest polar bear exhibit in North America. Visitors traveling through the Polar Passage tunnel can observe polar bears and seals swimming.
Average life span in wild: 25-30 years
Height: 7-8 feet
Weight: 900-1,600 pounds
Birth: Females give birth in winter, usually to twins that weigh about a pound each. Cubs live with their mothers for over two years as they learn the skills they will need to survive. Males offer no rearing assistance and may even kill cubs.
Protection status: Threatened. Loss of sea ice due to global warming is a major threat. Others are poaching and pollution.
Now you know: Polar bears have a thick coat of translucent hollow fur, a layer of fat, and black skin (to absorb sunlight), which all help them to keep warm. Their paws have fur, even on the bottom, and their front paws are slightly webbed, making them strong swimmers. Polar bears, which evolved from brown bears, also have small ears to minimize heat loss, and short claws so they don’t get caught in the ice. “They are really uniquely adapted to living in cold temperatures,” said Betsie Meister, Detroit Zoo assistant curator of mammals. “Everybody loves to come see the polar bears. The Arctic Ring also has seals and Arctic fox.”
Pickers: Polar bears can acquire a taste for garbage, which can make them a dangerous nuisance to humans.
Zoo information: 248-541-5717, www.detroitzoo.org.
— Joe Ballor, Journal Register News
Editor’s note: Animals of the Zoo is a weekly series. Last week: Baby chimpanzee. Next week: Red kangaroos and their joeys.