The Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg is welcoming the newest addition to its polar bear conservation centre.
Agee, a 26-year-old female polar bear, is the zoo’s latest resident, after spending most of her life with private owners in British Columbia.
A team from the Assiniboine Park Conservancy assessed Agee’s health in B.C. last week and supervised her transfer to Manitoba.
“As leaders in polar bear rescue, transition and care, the Assiniboine Park Zoo is very well-equipped to provide Agee with a new home and high quality of life in human care,” said the zoo’s Grant Furniss on Monday.
“Here at the zoo, we have a team of experts who will tend to Agee’s needs. She will receive the same attention and high standard of care as the other polar bears at the zoo.”
Although Agee is reportedly settling into her new home nicely, she’s not currently visible to zoo visitors, as she’s undergoing a standard month-long quarantine period, in which her health and behaviour will be monitored by zoo staff.
Furniss said Agee is unlikely to be introduced to the zoo’s population of nine other bears, as she’s lived her entire life with humans.
“It is our intention that Agee will be visible to the public at some point in the future, but that will be determined by how she adjusts to her new surroundings. Her health and welfare are our highest priorities,” he said.
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