Featured Image: KANSAS CITY ZOO
At the Kansas City Zoo, Berlin the polar bear was a lonely bear for many years. She was the only polar bear at the zoo starting in 2015. Before that, she had a companion named Nikita, but he moved to the North Carolina Zoo for breeding purposes. Berlin and Nikita had lived together for 3 years without producing a baby.
Since Nikita left, Berlin has been basking in her solitude. Although being alone has its perks, she recently got a new roommate. Bam Bam, another female polar bear, moved from the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo to the Kansas City Zoo.
Bam Bam is 30 years old and Berlin in 28. The pair of older bears seem to be getting along well so far. It is always nice to have some extra company.
Bam Bam made the journey in a specialized refrigerated truck. It was only a three hour journey and she made it to the zoo in one piece. She arrived in May. The two polar bears were given a chance to adjust to each other for a month before the public could see Bam Bam and Berlin in their new home together.
The Kansas City Zoo director, Sean Putney, had this to say about the bears, “The population of the polar bears, not only in zoos but in the natural environment, is getting smaller and smaller each year. We try to do as much as we can to promote conservation and help those animals.
We really consider them to be the ambassadors of their species and hopefully, as people come back to the zoo they will not only see the bears but talk about some issues that some of the animals we have here are facing in their natural environments.”
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