Szenja and Snowflake, SeaWorld San Diego’s 18-year-old female polar bears, are back home at Wild Arctic after their five-month breeding visit to the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium.
The park’s animal care specialists and veterinarians will be keeping a close eye on the bears in hopes one or both of them are pregnant. If they are, a polar bear cub could be born by the end of the year.
While the bears were away in Pittsburgh, some exciting enhancements were made to their 65,000-square-foot, 90,000-gallon habitat, including new EED (environmental enrichment device) “caves” to their habitat (areas where keepers can hide treats for the bears to hunt for) which will allow for even more enrichment activities for the bears.
Polar bears are a threatened species with populations on the decline. The knowledge gained from this breeding expedition will not only advance the ability to diversify and conserve zoological polar bear populations, but also help researchers, scientists and veterinarians learn more about how to conserve polar bears in the wild.