Detroit Zookeepers Playing Polar Bear Matchmaker
ROYAL OAK (WWJ-TV) – Bear in mind they just met, but hopes are high that the Detroit Zoo's 7-year-old female polar bear, Talini, and 7-year-old newcomer, Nuka, will hit it off and make woo at the Zoo. The 10-foot, 890-pound male arrived from the Pittsburgh Zoo at the recommendation of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' (AZA) Polar Bear Species Survival Plan (SSP), a cooperative population management and conservation program.
Talini is one of only 11 female polar bears at AZA-accredited zoos nationwide available for breeding. The AZA recommendation resulted in a polar bear exchange among the Detroit, Pittsburgh and Denver zoos. Talini and Nuka were matched based on their age, health, lineage and other factors.
"The personalities of the bears will be significant to the success of this important matchmaking," said Detroit Zoological Society Chief Life Sciences Officer Scott Carter. "There are no guarantees, but we're optimistic that Talini and Nuka will be compatible and Detroit Zoo visitors will be seeing a polar bear cub in 2013."
Breeding season for polar bears lasts from March until June. An eight-month gestation cycle includes a period of delayed implantation, which assures that cubs are born during the best time of the year for survival in the wild. If Talini becomes pregnant, she would enter the maternity den in mid-November of next year and emerge in late-April of 2013 with her offspring.
While he's waiting to break the ice with Talini, Nuka – Inuit for "little brother" – is cooling his heels at the Detroit Zoo's award-winning Arctic Ring of Life. He also joins Talini's mother, 27-year-old Bärle (BEAR la), and 19-year-old male, Aquila (uh KEE la), at North America's largest polar bear exhibit.
