Kansas City Zoo getting a second female polar bear to join its solitary Berlin
The Kansas City Zoo is getting a second female polar bear to share the $11 million exhibit that has been home to a solitary bear for more than two years, the zoo announced Thursday.
Bam Bam is expected to arrive next month from the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, where she was born. The 30-year-old will be gradually introduced to Berlin, the 28-year-old resident bear at the Kansas City Zoo.
Zoo officials have been hoping to acquire a second bear since a male, Nikita, was sent from here to a zoo in North Carolina in 2015 for breeding.
Bear placement decisions are made by a protocol among North American zoos called a species survival plan. Polar bear managers recommended that Bam Bam be permanently transferred to Kansas City. Both females are too old for breeding.
Polar bears in the wild could be gone by 2100, warns Polar Bears International. They are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The main threat is the loss of sea ice due to climate change.
But polar bear births in captivity are not common. There are only 11 breeding pairs of polar bears in the U.S.
The Kansas City Zoo's modern polar bear exhibit opened in 2010 with Nikita. Berlin came here in late 2012. The two bears were observed mating but there was no pregnancy.
Bam Bam has been a local favorite in Omaha, according to the Kansas City Zoo announcement.
"Bam Bam is an inquisitive, smart and sometimes temperamental bear who is great at problem solving," the announcement said.
When the new polar bear arrives she will go through a period of quarantine before she is introduced to Berlin. Initially, the two bears may take turns in the outdoor exhibit.
"Zoo goers should be able to meet our cool new friend this summer," the zoo announcement said.
Meanwhile, Nikita, who is now 10, is in his third breeding season with Anana, an 18-year-old female at the North Carolina Zoo, according to the Charlotte News & Observer. They have yet to produce a cub.
This story was originally published March 29, 2018 at 1:07 PM with the headline "Kansas City Zoo getting a second female polar bear to join its solitary Berlin."