Baby Polar Bear Rescued From North Slope Oil Field

Officials from the Alaska Zoo were brought in to transport the bear to Anchorage for recovery.

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By KTVA CBS 11

Story Created: May 3, 2011 at 8:31 PM AKDT

Story Updated: May 4, 2011 at 3:14 PM AKDT

A baby polar bear, just a couple of months old, is recovering after being rescued from a North Slope oil field.

Her name is Qannik, which means “snowflake” in Inupiat.

The workers first spotted Qannik last Tuesday outside of the ConocoPhillips Alpine Oil Field after a blizzard.

They monitored the area for a few days and realized the cub’s mother wasn’t coming back.

Officials from the Alaska Zoo were brought in Friday to transport the bear to Anchorage to recover.

“She's in fairly good health but she has lost a lot of weight. She was a number of days without her mother's care and her mother’s milk, so we figure she lost at least 20 to 25 percent of her body weight before she was found and recovered,” said Patrick Lampi, executive director at the Alaska Zoo.

Qannik won’t be available to view at the zoo for a while.

Once she puts on about 30 pounds, she'll be healthy enough to travel and U.S. Fish and Wildlife will determine what facility she will call home.

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jloe mk said on Thursday, May 5 at 8:40 PM

so much for no impact by the oil company

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colleen said on Thursday, May 26 at 7:01 AM

This was a positive impact..they saved her.

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candice huff said on Tuesday, Feb 19 at 9:13 AM

this a great thing to do for the polar bear many thanks!!! love candice...

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