Polar Bear Cub Makes Her Debut at Alaska Zoo

The cub was rescued back in April, and will be calling Anchorage home until she gains enough weight to move down to the states.

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By KTVA CBS 11
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Story Created: May 25, 2011 at 8:23 PM AKDT

Story Updated: May 25, 2011 at 8:23 PM AKDT

 A rescued four-month-old polar bear made her debut today at the Alaska Zoo.

The orphaned polar bear cub was rescued from the Alpine Oilfield on the North Slope of Alaska in April.

She has been at the zoo under special care since her rescue and will be calling the zoo home until she is nursed back to health.

Zookeepers say the cub is underweight, and once she gains enough weight she will leave the zoo.  When she first arrived in Anchorage she weighed only 17 pounds, and now she is already up to 30 pounds.

Rosa Meehan with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife said, “For the survivorship of the bear, we bring them into captivity.  And in a way, being a wildlife biologist, it's hard to see an animal in captivity.  On the other hand, this cub was either going to perish or come down this path.  And this path provides her an opportunity to be an ambassador for polar bears and an ambassador for the Arctic."


Interest has been shown by zoos in the lower 48, but no official location has been selected.

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Debra Wilson, DVM said on Saturday, Jun 4 at 4:08 PM

It's been reported by wildlife officials this polar bear cub's mother has been spotted alive. It is not too late to release this cub back in the wild where it belongs.

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