Thursday, July 14, 2011

Snow Day in SD

Our polar bears enjoyed a snow day yesterday thanks to over 90 generous donations to our animal care wish list. http://sandiegozoo.org/wis​hlist





Our three polar bears were greeted by 18 tons of snow and lots of smiling donors when they walked into their exhibit yesterday. Kalluk, the male, quickly bounded to the top of one snow mound and spread himself flat as a pancake, rubbing and wiggling in the snow. Females Tatqiq and Chinook started digging in the snow and eating the icy treat that filled their habitat. Soon, they were wrestling with each other, diving into their pool and belly-crawling across the slippery ice. The bears even found some of their other toys and buried them in holes they dug in the snow.




More than 90 donors contributed a total of $5100 to our online Animal Care Wish List ( http://sandiegozoo.org/wis​hlist ) to provide the special enrichment activity for the bears. The wish list is like an online gift registry for animals at the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park.




Polar Bear Plunge was renovated in 2010 to show how polar bears live in the Arctic and addresses the threats they're facing due to climate change. Guests have the chance to walk in the paw prints of the largest bears on Earth and learn how they survive in the harsh Arctic climate, what -and how much - they eat and how humans can improve the species' chances of survival.


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