The orphaned polar bear who arrived at the Assiniboine Park Zoo this summer can now be viewed by the public, the park conservancy announced.
The cub, who has not been named yet, arrived at Winnipeg’s zoo in August. He is less than a year old and arrived in the city from Churchill, Man., where he was found orphaned after his mother died.
Since then, a team of animal care, veterinary and conservation experts have managed his care and helped him transition to this new home at the Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre. The team helped him build trust and adjust at his own pace, to ensure he was ready for the public to visit, Assiniboine Park Conservancy said in a news release.
He is the first cub to arrive in years, Jackie Enberg, an animal care curator at Assiniboine Park Conservancy, told Global News in an interview.
“His mom had taught him, probably, to stay away from people. So, it takes some time and that first day we started building a relationship with him,” Enberg said.
The foundation of that relationship is based on the cub’s love for food, she added. His care team provided him with snacks to gain his trust, which helped him associate people with calm behaviour, she said.
“We just keep building that relationship every day,” Enberg added.
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“He’s really calm today. He is even rolling around and actually choosing to be where groups of people are. He can go inside as many times as he wants. He took a couple swims today, played with some toys and played with a pumpkin.”
That behaviour, Enberg said, is a good sign.
Currently, no other polar bears are in his enclosure, and he will not get to chill with the others in the centre until he’s grown up, she continued. The cub is in the zoo’s transition centre for polar bears, as he acclimates to his new home and continues training with his care team.
One element of that training will be teaching him to respond to his name – but first, one must be selected, Enberg said. To credit the cub’s connection to the Polar Bear Capital of the World, the zoo has four potential name options – Duke, Marly, Fletcher and Mantayo.
His name will be determined based on an online vote that closes Tuesday, Oct. 13.
Duke comes from the Duke of Marlborough School, a school in Churchill that serves students from kindergarten to Grade 12. Marly also honours that school and its student body, according to the release.
“We are proud to partner with the Town of Churchill and students of the Duke of Marlborough School, whose thoughtful name selections reflect the love and care the community has shown for this bear since the very beginning,” Laura Caback, the senior director of marketing and communications at Assiniboine Park Conservancy, said in the news release.
The third option, Fletcher, is named for Fletcher Lake, a waterway southeast of Churchill in Wapusk National Park, Enberg said. The park is a common place for polar bear mothers to den with their cubs.
The final of the four options, Mantayo, represents the Cree name for Churchill’s River of Strangers, it added. Mantayo means “strangers” in Cree.
He will join seven other rescued polar bears at the polar bear conservation site in Winnipeg. The cub, Storm, Nanuq, York, Kaska, Willow and Star will help connect visitors to Churchill and the Arctic from the city, the release said.
Is the cub going to stay in captivity the entire life?
Looks cute!
I think faith would be a good name
As the polar bear cub at the Assiniboine Zoo came from Churchill, the name Winston might make a great name; if it’s not to submit at this point.