Polar Bears » Auckland Zoo

Polar Bears
05-07-2008

Does anyone know what happened to their exhibit?

07-07-2008

Hi there. I wasn't at the zoo at the time but the old polar bear exhibit was filled in and after various different animals it is currently being used to house Cotton Top Tamarins on one side and a Brazilian Agouti on the other!

07-07-2008

Cool!, thank you

05-11-2008

I remember the polar bears well when I visited the Zoo 40 years ago.

the zoo always had trouble keeping them healthy. There were a number of cubs born at the Zoo, but I think only one survived into adulthood. One was tragically drowned and it's stuffed body was on display next to the bear pits for many years.

Eventually the last polar bears died of old age, and it was decided not to replace them, although the Zoo had been offered new ones.

06-11-2008

[quote=kiwipo;81172]I remember the polar bears well when I visited the Zoo 40 years ago.

the zoo always had trouble keeping them healthy. There were a number of cubs born at the Zoo, but I think only one survived into adulthood. One was tragically drowned and it's stuffed body was on display next to the bear pits for many years.

The bears famously went green due to algal growth within their hair shafts (a common issue for Polar Bears even in the wild). Two cubs were born - Piwi drowned on his mother chest in front of a horrified crowd of visitors. The second, Chimo, survived to adulthood and lived out his live at the zoo.

When the final bear died in the early '90s (Ingrid I think) it was decided that they should not be replaced and are no longer part of the species plan. Do keep Polar Bears well you need LOTS of space and LOTS of resources (Auckland Zoo has neither) and a really good reason for having them. Some of the best exhibits are in N.Amercian zoos as you would expect.

The first bears came into the zoo around 1927 I think and the last died in 1992(?).

07-11-2008

there's a photo of Auckland's last two polar bears here polar bears, Auckland Zoo - ZooChat Gallery

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07-11-2008

Not sure when the photo was taken, but it could be Ingrid and Joacquim (not sure if that's spelled correctly).

08-11-2008

Are you sure..? I'm think those exhibits were there before the Polar Bear exhibit was filled in and the old polar bear area is now the Children's party area..?

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08-11-2008

Those exhibits and the one that now contains the meerkats, together with the childrens party huts was almost all bears - black, brown and polar. The leveled area that is now the children's party area was the polar bear enclosure with the other adjacent ones being holding enclosures to allow the main pool to the cleaned etc... Directly behind the children's party area, the original polar bear holding and denning area is still there.

10-11-2008

Yeah I saw that rear area when doing the African encounter (or whatever its called)... I thought due to those dens being there the other two adjacent ones were used for "regular" bears...

I'm pretty sure where the meerkat enclosure is, used to have held bears (at least from old maps it was, I was only 8 or 9 when the current meerkat enclosure opened)...

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10-11-2008

Just had a look at a circa 1924 map and the meerkats used to be black bears, and as you walked past the cafe you had the polar bear enclosures (the current kids area) and then the brown bears.

By circa 1954 you had the same general layout but there were also Sun Bears listed near what is now the front entrance.

Here's some general info about polar bears at the Zoo:

Intended to be the main attraction - enclosure built in 1923
2 wild caught bears arrived in November 1923 & 4 wild caught bears arrived in January 1925
⁃ 1 bear sold to Wellington Zoo
⁃ 1 bear died in December 1926
⁃ 1 was shot in 1927 trying to escape
⁃ around 1933/ 4 a female was sold to Adelaide Zoo
By 1936 all of the original 6 had gone
1937 - 1942 Zoo had one bear
⁃ died and was replaced by animal from Taronga
1949 - 2 males and 1 female imported from Norway
⁃ June 1957 twins born - one dies soon after birth, the other [Piwi] drowns at 11 weeks
March 1962, Natuk put down
December 1962, Natasha died
February 1963, Brunus dies
Natasha's cub Chimo survived
1962 - Ingrid arrives from Taraonga
Chimo died in 1989
Lisbeth died in 1990
Joachim died in 1995
Ingrid died in 1995

12-11-2008

Good info, how many of the animals were put down due to the "mysterious" skin conditions..? It was surely more than just the one..?

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12-11-2008

Information suggests that Natuk was put down due to a skin abcess and Brunus died of unspecified reasons. That could have been related to the disease but its unknown. sorry I couldn't provide more definative details.

15-11-2008

I only asked because Tiger by the Tail seemed to suggest it was ongoing through the exhibits history and caused a few of the deaths..?

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15-11-2008

That was my original assumption, but when I read through TbtT (admitedly on a skim through the section that talks most about Polar Bears) I was only able to identify these few. Even more extensive research prior to our recent Historic Tours failed to reveal the assumed spates of deaths due from disease amongst the ursids. Thats not to say that the mortality rate during the Zoo's early years was anything to write home about - especially amongst avian and hoof stock.

I agree that the Polar Bear enclosure(s) gave a lot of trouble to the staff and that these issues were perhaps reflective of the husbandry practices of the time, the lack of understanding about how to keep ursids well in captivity and a lack of resources. I would imagine that Auckland's Polar Bear issues were not limited to us and that most zoos do (and in some cases probably still do) have issues with persistent systemic diseases amongst their collections. Once a pathogen takes hold in an enclosure it can be very difficult to eradicate it - short of demolishing the enclosure and starting again from scratch.

More modern enclosures tend to be less prone to these problems as their design includes more thought around husbandry issues, hygeine and are not just designed with the needs of the viewing public in mind. The ends of the days of concrete pits for ursids and the rise of the immersive enclosure is a huge step forward in terms of husbandry as well as visitor experiences. Of cause a heavily planted enclosure can present its only problems in terms of substrate born pathogens but preventative and remedial action is more effective - replacing the substratee or plantings is easier that demolishing an infected concrete pit enclosure.

Our current husbandry standards are amongst the best in the industry and our mortality rates are well below the expected norms for a zoo of Auckland's size and collection.