Admittedly a slightly better situation than what I understood, but the heaps of bureaucracy on this... yeesh.
North American Polar Bear Population 2022
- Thread starter MidwestFan
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Polar bear fan
Well-Known Member
With the death of Anana, all of her relatives just became more valuable to the population, especially her daughter. Columbus is definitely not losing polar bears as has been previously mentioned. Aurora will breed next year if no cubs are born this winter and they have two younger females that they could likely recall too. It’s incredibly upsetting that she died. I cant believe she did, we’ve seen such good longevity lately. The most recent deaths were all 26+ and Anana was probably the 4th most important female in the population.
On the bright side she still has her mother, 3 sisters, 3 brothers, and niece in breeding situations. Her death may also free up room for a younger female (Amelia or Astra, I exclude Laerke and Nora due to their medical history and size) to receive a breeding recommendation with one of the 2 boys Anana would have been be paired with this spring.
I wonder why nothing has happened with the MMPA to bring in animals or breed from the orphaned stock. What you’ve shown us would lead me to believe Louisville, San Diego, and St. Louis should all have been able to get approval for breeding their bears. And since Europe and Canada are so full why are we breeding Neva with Nikita and Hudson with Hope? Surely at least one zoo would have brought a bear from abroad if they could. Maryland, Cincinnati, and Point Defiance certainly don’t want to go out of the species. Hogle and Brookfield are dedicated too, I’m sure they would have been more than happy to bring in a European female for their boys while Hope or Neva could easily have been paired with Toronto’s boys. I feel like we’re missing some information but I just don’t know what.
On the bright side she still has her mother, 3 sisters, 3 brothers, and niece in breeding situations. Her death may also free up room for a younger female (Amelia or Astra, I exclude Laerke and Nora due to their medical history and size) to receive a breeding recommendation with one of the 2 boys Anana would have been be paired with this spring.
I wonder why nothing has happened with the MMPA to bring in animals or breed from the orphaned stock. What you’ve shown us would lead me to believe Louisville, San Diego, and St. Louis should all have been able to get approval for breeding their bears. And since Europe and Canada are so full why are we breeding Neva with Nikita and Hudson with Hope? Surely at least one zoo would have brought a bear from abroad if they could. Maryland, Cincinnati, and Point Defiance certainly don’t want to go out of the species. Hogle and Brookfield are dedicated too, I’m sure they would have been more than happy to bring in a European female for their boys while Hope or Neva could easily have been paired with Toronto’s boys. I feel like we’re missing some information but I just don’t know what.
What are the most likely zoos to see births this denning season? I know there are a lot of zoos attempting breeding but have had limited success. I'm hoping this year will be different, but aren't that optimistic either.
@Polar bear fan what's Laerke's medical problems/size problems? I'm aware of the medical history Nora has had, but didn't realize Laerke is also medically excluded.
@Polar bear fan what's Laerke's medical problems/size problems? I'm aware of the medical history Nora has had, but didn't realize Laerke is also medically excluded.
There's a pretty good chance we'll see cubs from Toledo, Columbus, Brookfield, and/or Hogle this year, while Lincoln Park, Memphis, Buffalo, and maybe maybe NC all have a chance at it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed we'll see at least one litter born this season, it would a big pity if we have a repeat of last year!
She is not technically medically excluded according to the SSP, but she's a pretty small female iirc, much smaller than Astra. Not sure if that means she will not be able to breed but perhaps she won't which would really be a pity.
Polar bear fan
Well-Known Member
Toledo is most likely to have a cub this year. They’re pair are very consistent breeders who were paired this season and I’ve been told the got along well. Nuka has sired litters every year between 2018-2020 and Crystal has only missed one possible litter since 2006. Buffalo, Brookfield, and Memphis follow. Their pairs are a decent age for breeding and pairs who’ve been together for 2 and 7 seasons. Due to age or reproductive complications North Carolina, Lincoln Park, and Henry Vilas won’t likely have cubs this year. The only remaining facilities are Columbus and Hogle. In Columbus we have the most consistent female as of late, Aurora, but she was AI-ed so her chances aren’t particularly high and in Hogle this is Nikita’s third mate and Neva’s first season so breeding is possible but I’d expect to wait a few more years. In the future Hogle, Brookfield, and Buffalo should all be powerhouses if their pairs stay alive and together. They have younger females and few reasons to believe they won’t reproduce.
For Laerke, she’s not mature just yet so I don’t believe she’s been formally excluded from the breeding program but she’s physically half the size of her twin sister which coupled with improper socialization (not mother raised) it’s unlikely she’ll be paired for a long time. Hopefully she’ll hit a growth spurt but right now she’s a terrible candidate for breeding sadly.
Keep in mind Luna at Buffalo Zoo is a hand-reared bear, which makes reproductive success slightly less likely. Still a possibility, and I'd love to see cubs at Buffalo, but that makes it slightly less likely than, say, Brookfield or Memphis.
Polar bear fan
Well-Known Member
I totally agree, she’s had much better socialization than Laerke or Nora had though, being raised with Kali and then introduced to a mother-raised male with a twin sister. Memphis I’m worried about, they have the country’s most valuable pair but both have had ample chances to produce a cub and neither have. Koda has been with three females while Haley has been paired every year since she was two. I’m anxious to see what happens in Buffalo and Memphis. Brookfield on the other hand does have a good chance of cubs, the death of Anana though reminds us not to take a 15 year old bear for granted. Hopefully Hudson gets the job done soon because he may be around for another decade like his brother or be around another month like his niece.
Would it be feasible to try and perform a major importation of polar bears from either Canada (whether it be those from Canadian zoos or approval for rescues if possible) or Europe? I’m thinking something similar to the Swaziland elephant import back in 2016. I know it’s a lot of legal hurdles with the permits, but considering the state of the country’s polar bear population, I feel it may be worth a shot. Especially since Canada is very close and Europe seems to have stronger breeding success, some of those bears may bring a little more luck. Thoughts?
One concern would be whether or not the imported bears would be allowed to breed? I wouldn't want them to go through the effort to import a bunch of bears that'll never be able to breed, that'd just hurt the populations of the countries they came from.
Also- looking at Canada, I'd be concerned at seeing what possible bears could be imported. For females, Juno at Toronto is the only young bear that isn't wild-caught. So while bringing her in would be beneficial for the population, it wouldn't be a save-all. There are a few younger males (four that are <10 years old), but they'd be less valuable to begin with as the state of Male bears in US Zoos are slightly better (two proven breeders not related to AussiexAarki line).
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That’s true, although wouldn’t there be nothing to worry about since this seems to fall under the “enhancing survival/recovery of the species” part of the policy? Or are you referring to the SSP or AZA possibly not backing this up? Just making sure I’m understanding properly.
Well there is precedence for permits to be issued that allow exhibition/research but not breeding... just look at Mystic's Beluga import for an example.That’s true, although wouldn’t there be nothing to worry about since this seems to fall under the “enhancing survival/recovery of the species” part of the policy? Or are you referring to the SSP or AZA possibly not backing this up? Just making sure I’m understanding properly.
What do you mean by this? If these males were swapped, would the animals from the two new pairs be more genetically dissimilar than how the situation rests now?
Also, are there any likely reasons for why Amelia Gray, Nora, Lee, and Nuniq are where they are at this time. I am uncertain of whether Oregon can accommodate a male for breeding in addition to Nora and Amelia Gray, but if they can, why isn't Lee there?
Could one or two of the animals from San Diego be sent to a facility that has an elderly bear or is currently without any like Seneca Park, Pittsburgh, Maryland, or Point Defiance. Point Defiance seems less realistic to me because that exhibit is scheduled to undergo renovations in the not to distant future, but still, is this out of the realm of possibility for some reason?
Polar bear fan
Well-Known Member
I just mean considering the males are brothers and neither pair has produced cubs in their 4 and 5 seasons together it would make sense to switch up the pairings before these 2 incredibly important females are infertile.
Nora is excluded from breeding and Nuniq would be paired up if there was a female available. As for Lee and Amelia… I think the consensus at Maryland was that Amelia needed time to continue maturing before being paired with a male, however it would have made sense to get her with Lee so she could become comfortable around him. The reason for Lee’s location is that he was just supposed to be on a near by vacation while the Columbus girls raised cubs. That of course backfired when Anana never gave birth and Columbus lost accreditation, making transfers more difficult.
They could hypothetically. However with 3 senior bears all excluded from breeding I think it’s unlikely San Diego would want to part with any of them. There’s no guarantee they’d be able to replace them if they were sent out.
This makes a lot of sense now that I know your reasoning.
I would think that Amelia moving to Louisville to be with another female in addition to Lee would be more beneficial for the population's future.
I only glanced at the list of bears by location for a moment for this question, but are polar bears from the same litter always of the same sex? I know this is the case with (a) species of armadillo.
Corangurilla
Well-Known Member
No, because Aurora (Columbus) gave birth to Neva (female) and Nuniq (male) in 2016.
Not sure if Louisville has the room for Lee, Qannik, Amelia, plus cubs. Also there are no plans to move either Nora or Amelia from Oregon at the moment, Nora is medically excluded so will likely never get to breed and they want to keep Amelia as her companion for at least a few years I'm assuming.
Nope! There have historically been many litters with cubs of differing sexes, and our most recent example of this would be Nuniq and Neva born at Columbus in November 2016 (Nuniq is now at Kansas City, and Neva's at Hogle).
Polar bear fan
Well-Known Member
As others on here have said Berit, Neva, Luna, Haley, and Anana are all females born with a male twin. It’s just chance.
"Tacoma’s Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is taking initial steps in improving its polar bear habitat, which is anticipated to be home to new inhabitants next summer. The polar bear exhibit opened in 1982 as part of the zoo’s Rocky Shores/Arctic Tundra section. A bond issue approved by voters in 2014 included plans for an upgrade, among other capital-improvement projects. The zoo’s last surviving polar bear, Blizzard, died in May, and the polar bear habitat is currently closed.
Zoo officials recently submitted information to the city as part of the construction permitting process, offering more details about what’s to come for its home to polar bears. Pre-application plans filed in mid-October describe removing existing concrete surface in the exhibit and replacing with sand, along with adding a sun shade to be used in the warmer months, and adding an outdoor log structure and an exterior automatic watering station. The project cost is estimated at just under $395,000, according to the filing.
Whitney DalBalcon, marketing and communications manager for the zoo, told The News Tribune in response to questions via email, “We are working now with a local architectural firm on a design for short-term modifications to the polar bear habitat and expect to finalize the design by the end of the year. “Specifically, we will be replacing rock work with natural substrate and adding more shaded areas to the habitat.” Renderings were not available to share. “We have 50 percent design documents that we are still discussing internally,” she added.
The zoo representative noted, “The design plans will then need to be approved and permitted through the City of Tacoma.” After the work is finished, the zoo is set to “have polar bears in the habitat in summer 2023,” she wrote. Upgrades to the polar bear habitat was one of several projects funded by a $198 million bond issue approved by voters in 2014. Of that amount, more than $65 million was earmarked for capital improvements at the zoo."
https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article267838927.html
Already posted this on the Point Defiance Zoo thread, but *boy* am I thrilled to see a zoo bucking the trend of losing polar bears!
Zoo officials recently submitted information to the city as part of the construction permitting process, offering more details about what’s to come for its home to polar bears. Pre-application plans filed in mid-October describe removing existing concrete surface in the exhibit and replacing with sand, along with adding a sun shade to be used in the warmer months, and adding an outdoor log structure and an exterior automatic watering station. The project cost is estimated at just under $395,000, according to the filing.
Whitney DalBalcon, marketing and communications manager for the zoo, told The News Tribune in response to questions via email, “We are working now with a local architectural firm on a design for short-term modifications to the polar bear habitat and expect to finalize the design by the end of the year. “Specifically, we will be replacing rock work with natural substrate and adding more shaded areas to the habitat.” Renderings were not available to share. “We have 50 percent design documents that we are still discussing internally,” she added.
The zoo representative noted, “The design plans will then need to be approved and permitted through the City of Tacoma.” After the work is finished, the zoo is set to “have polar bears in the habitat in summer 2023,” she wrote. Upgrades to the polar bear habitat was one of several projects funded by a $198 million bond issue approved by voters in 2014. Of that amount, more than $65 million was earmarked for capital improvements at the zoo."
https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article267838927.html
Already posted this on the Point Defiance Zoo thread, but *boy* am I thrilled to see a zoo bucking the trend of losing polar bears!
I wonder what bears they expect to recieve. Will they try to acquire an orphaned cub or will a bear from elsewhere in the population end up at Point Defiance? There's already at one zoo (Maryland) with a bear exhibit, wants bear, but can't get any- it'd be a shame if the zoo went thrifty the process of renovating an exhibit just for it to sit empty or house a grizzly.
Polar bear fan
Well-Known Member
I don’t know but Detroit’s girls are likely to be introduced to one another and separated from Suka this winter. They might introduce them in Detroit and send the pair to Pt. Defiance a few months later. That said, Maryland has experience with this situation and was on the list first… who knows honestly. Very excited for whatever happens.