The polar bear trio at the San Diego Zoo was in their natural element Saturday as they celebrated Endangered Species Day with 28 tons of snow made possible by donors who contributed to the animal care wish list on the San Diego Zoo website.
While having their habitat covered in snow is one of the best types of enrichment Talluk, Tatqiq and Chinook could have, the keepers had even more in store for them. Polar bear keepers set out fish-sicles and carrots, buried the bears’ favorite toys under the snow, and played to one of the bears’ most vital senses: smell. Keepers took water from the sea lion pool at wegeforth bowl, froze it, and then threw the blocks of ice in the polar bear habitat, giving the bears a sea lion scent to follow.
“All of the different types of enrichment today piqued the bears’ interest, but the snow was the most impactful,” Said Nate Wagner, senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. “These guys were all rescued at a young age so they never got a chance to learn some natural behaviors out in the wild, but being in the snow here brings out some of that instinctual behavior.”
Some of that natural behavior included rolling, sliding, digging and pouncing on the snow, something polar bears do in the wild in order to break through the ice to get to their prey. Unfortunately for Kalluk and Tatqiq, they were never taught these behaviors because their mother was shot and killed while they were still very young cubs, and it is unknown what happened to Chinook’s mother.
All three bears were rescued, and they serve as ambassadors for Endangered Species Day. A threatened species, polar bears face danger from both poachers and habitat loss, mostly due to climate change.
Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is a goal of San Diego Zoo Global. As a leader in conservation, the work of San Diego Zoo Global includes onsite wildlife conservation efforts at the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, as well as international field programs on six continents.
— From a San Diego Zoo Global press release
