Polar Bear Cub Headed to Buffalo, NY Zoo

Orphaned cub can be viewed by the public on Saturday at the Alaska Zoo

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By Kate McPherson
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Story Created: Mar 23, 2013 at 12:00 AM AKDT

Story Updated: Mar 27, 2013 at 8:53 AM AKDT

ANCHORAGE - The orphaned polar bear cub that will spend the rest of its life in captivity is headed to Buffalo Zoo in New York this spring, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The cub is named Kali, which is the Inupiat name for Point Lay. The two-to-three-month-old male is being cared for at the Alaska Zoo after a hunter killed its mother near Point Lay last week.

Buffalo Zoo officials want to introduce Kali to a female cub that's also being raised in captivity there. Polar bear experts say both cubs would benefit from each other's company during this important period in their development.

Normally a polar bear cub lives with its mother for three to four years, according to the executive director of the Alaska Zoo, Patrick Lampi.

“A lot of times it will have a sibling that it's raised with, so it's a great idea if there is the opportunity to put two cubs together for the companionship…you can't beat that, that's what they really need,” he said.

Officials say the St. Louis Zoo is a possible final destination for the cub, because it's building a state-of-the-art polar bear exhibit that’s expected to be completed in 2015.

For now, though, the bear cub resides at the Alaska Zoo, and the public is invited to visit Kali beginning tomorrow. Kali will be allowed into an outdoor pen between 11 a.m. and noon, and between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. daily.

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Wondering said on Monday, Mar 25 at 8:28 AM

This is the bear that was orphaned by the hunter that was glorified here in the news after he killed the mother while the cub was nursing or laying next to her correct? If it had not been a Native Alaskan who had killed the mother would the story had been written in such a "positive" or "heroic" light? The guy actually committed a crime, did he not? Did fish and game cite him? I think what he did by carrying the cub to safety was a good thing but facts are facts, he did not properly identify the mother bear (which was 100 yards away) prior to shooting her and I can't help but wonder if this had been anyone else other than a Native Alaskan, if the article would have been written with a different flair.

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