Polar Bear Cub Finds Temporary Home at Alaska Zoo

North Slope cub orphaned after a hunter killed its mother

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By Heather Hintze
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Story Created: Mar 19, 2013 at 6:35 PM AKDT

Story Updated: Mar 20, 2013 at 7:30 AM AKDT

ANCHORAGE - The Alaska Zoo has a cuddly new temporary resident: Kali, an orphaned polar bear cub from Point Lay.

Kali—pronounced “Cully,” which is the Inupiat name for Point Lay—has only been at the zoo a week and is already adjusting to life in captivity.

“Since I've been here [for] 18 years, this is the first one that really latches on and sucks on a bottle,” said Alaska Zoo Curator Shannon Jensen. “We've tried in the past to have bears put on bottles and this is the first one that ever really has. He's eating every feed on a big bottle. It's a big bear appetite.”

The three- to four-month-old bear was taken in after its mother was killed by a hunter on the North Slope.

Bruce Woods, a spokesperson for U.S. Fish & Wildlife, said it’s illegal to knowingly kill a female polar bear, or a female with cubs. He said it’s too early in the investigation to determine if that’s what happened in this case.

“The cub's life has changed forever,” said Woods. “It's already been around people too much to ever be taken back to the wild. You could say it's sad that it's facing a completely different life. On the other side we hope it will be a good ambassador for polar bears, and will be studied in captivity.”

Kali is the third orphaned cub that’s come to the zoo in the past 20 years. The first stayed, and is now the resident female at the polar bear exhibit, Ahpun. The second was rescued from the North Slope in April 2011. The female cub named Quannik—the Inupiat word for “snowflake”—went to a zoo in Louisville, Kentucky.

“I think it's just fun with any orphaned animal; it's a challenge to get it on the bottle and get it into captivity and get it used to being around people, and, depending on how long it's here, doing some training with it,” said Jensen.

Fish & Wildlife will determine where the cub will go, and said it will likely be somewhere in the Lower 48. Jensen said Kali will not stay at the Alaska Zoo because it already has a male polar bear.

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School 25 room 129 said on Thursday, Mar 21 at 7:14 AM

Our class watched the video in Rochester, NY. We would love for Kali to have his at Seneca Park Zoo. We would go visit him once a week if possible. We have a beautiful city and we would welcome him with open arms and hearts. He is sooo cute!!!

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