WINNIPEG — A captive polar bear will soon have a new home in Winnipeg.
The province released images Monday of the wild bear that was captured earlier this month after attacking a man in Churchill. The video shows the huge creature in its cell in Churchill.
The adult male bear will be moved to Winnipeg and become the second resident of Assiniboine Park Zoo’s Journey to Churchill exhibit.
“It’s deemed to be a candidate for life in captivity, based on its health, its temperament, age and disposition,” said provincial vet James Duncan.
“Because he had attacked someone, his options were to be euthanized or come here, and we think Manitoba Conservation made a really wise decision to send him to us,” said Don Peterkin of the Assiniboine Park Conservancy.
Hudson is currently the zoo’s only polar bear and has spent its whole life in captivity. The as-yet-unnamed wild bear will be kept separate from Hudson for the time being. Its stay will start with a 30-day quarantine while zoo officials check for disease and slowly introduce it to its new lifestyle.
“He can join us in Journey to Churchill next year when it opens. He can be an ambassador for the issues of living in the presence of polar bears and the whole story of how people and bears have managed to coexist in Churchill all these years,” Peterkin said.
Comments