The Toledo Zoo’s polar bear cub will make his grand debut Friday, just in time for Mother’s Day.
Borealis, called Bo for short, will be on public exhibit in the Arctic Encounter. He was born Dec. 9 and has been in an off-exhibit space with mom, Crystal, while he grew up a bit and learned how to navigate his new world.
“He’s been doing great,” Michael Frushour, curator of mammals, said. “He’s really grown to love the water, which is what you expect. As soon as mom goes in the water, he’s in the water.”
The cub has grown rapidly, as all cubs do. He now weighs 140 pounds, compared to just 27 pounds at his first veterinary exam in mid-March. Mr. Frushour said the zoo anticipates he will eventually be about the same size as his father, Marty.
Bo, named after the aurora borealis — or northern lights — may naturally be a little shy initially when greeting crowds of visitors, but has been outgoing with zoo staff and is expected to adjust easily.
“He seemed to warm up to the keeper staff quickly,” Mr. Frushour said. “I think he’ll do really well. We have no reason to believe he won’t be super active and playful.”
To help with the transition, mom and baby have recently been allowed into the exhibit space for a few hours in the early mornings before the zoo opens to the public. The cub has done very well learning to navigate the main exhibit and its deep pools.
“He does not venture far from mom, but he’s explored every part of the exhibit,” Mr. Frushour said. “He’s clumsy, as most babies are. It’s cute, but we always worry about what trouble they’re going to get into. We’ve had no issues with him so far. He’s fallen a few times but he gets right back up and is ready to play.”
Bo should be very active on exhibit. The zoo plans to have mom and baby out daily until about 2:30 p.m., after which time staff will rotate them out to allow Marty some time in the space. The schedule is subject to change at any time based on the animals’ needs.
The cub is the eighth born at the zoo since 2006 and the seventh offspring of Crystal. The last cub, a female named Hope, was born in December, 2015, and is now at the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City after moving there in late 2017.
As with other species, polar bear breeding at the Toledo Zoo is done at the recommendation of the Species Survival Plan through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums that helps ensure genetic diversity in the captive population. The zoo also works with Polar Bears International, sponsoring a tracking collar for a wild bear in the Arctic and conducting noninvasive research with its captive bears that cannot be done in the wild.
The species is listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ Red List as vulnerable and as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In recent years, some of the 19 known subpopulations of polar bears have been decreasing in numbers because of warming Arctic temperatures causing a rapid loss of sea ice. Sea ice is the main location for polar bears to hunt seals, breed, and construct dens.
First Published May 9, 2019, 4:34 p.m.
