Polar Bears - California / San Diego Zoo

[Elaine L]

Poor Kalluk.  He follows Chinook around, hoping for a friendly response, and she does not give him the time of day.  After a while, he gets depressed about the whole thing and goes and sits on a rock, watching her from a distance.   At the rate things are going now, he and Chinook will never mate again; if this continues, he is going to forget what his parts are for, and there will be no pitter-patter of baby feet ever. I think the Zoo should bring in another female for him, one that will appreciate his many fine qualities. These one-sided love affairs are so hopeless...

[Elaine L]

Oh, those polar bears.  I have noticed that Kalluk has been giving Chinook the eye, and I think he would be happy to have another go at baby-making, but Chinook has not shown much interest in this idea, so far.  She spends time playing with the dynamic duo, but she is more of a loner.  She likes to spend time doing the backstroke in the pool, and she is usually the first one that wants to get back to other side of their enclosure, often waiting at the gate for someone to open the door.  Kalluk and his sister have as much fun playing together as always, but he sure is making goo-goo eyes at Chinook.  We will see if she shows any interest in the baby business, but she is pretty old, in polar bear years.  I guess the Zoo team thinks she could still have a baby, but I think this would not be very likely.  Right now, she is dealing with a pot belly and she likes her food, much like me.

[Elaine L]

All three bears are now back together in the main enclosure.  The Zoo says that it is going to monitor them closely, just in case there are any arguments over food sharing, but right now, they are happily frolicking together.  They all seem delighted to be back together again.  The Zoo says that mating season is just around the corner, so we will see if Chinook and Kalluk will bring us the patter of little feet sometime next fall.

[Elaine L]

All three bears were on display just now, but Chinook was behind the fence, looking at her two friends as if she was very anxious to join them.  I could only see her from the head up, peering through the fence at Kalluk and Tatqik, trying to figure out a way to get to them, so I couldn't tell if she still has the pregnant look or not.  Kalluk seemed to be very intent on impressing her, which meant he first was laying flat on his back with his legs sticking up the air, and as he is not always a model of dignity, scratching himself, and this is when the camera decides to zoom in, then, in an unusually aggressive display for him, he got up and chased his sister around the enclosure, batting and snapping at her.  I think this was all for the benefit of Chinook, showing her what a tough guy he is.  Poor Chinook looked bewildered, but you could also see that she wanted to join her companions.  As for Tatqik, I think she knows how to handle her brother, and if he gets too aggressive, she lets him know.

[Kinderchick]

Aw!!!   Very disappointing news, to hear that Chinook is not pregnant.   I was lookinfg forward to seeing a baby polar bear with my Kinderchicklets... Maybe next year?

[Elaine L]

The latest information from the Zoo is disappointing; they do not now believe that Chinook is pregnant, and they say the window of opportunity here is closing.  Also, nothing has showed up on the ultrasounds, which Chinook so readily participates in.  They are now looking to next year.  I was really looking forward to seeing a polar bear baby, and considering the size of Chinook's belly, I felt certain we were about to participate in this rare and wonderful event in the polar bear world.  It would have made by winter, and my Christmas, for that matter.  Sigh....

[Saoirse]

You're not alone, Elaine. I don't check the polar bear cam every day, but definitely look in on the bears from time to time. I think the San Diego zoo does a fantastic job with their cams, and polar bears are amazing animals to watch.

[Elaine L]

I am a big fan of the polar bears, Kinderchick, especially at this time of the year, when our falcons have pretty well all gone south.  I think you, Tracy and I are perhaps the only ones following the polar bear cam, but that is o.k., I am happy to report to and interact with anyone who is interested, no matter how small this group may be.

[Kinderchick]

Didn't get a chance to see Kalluk today, but enjoyed hearing about his antics through you, Elaine.

[Elaine L]

Kalluk and the crows had abit of a dust-up this afternoon.  He had left a huge bone over by the water, and the crows, not slow to notice a feeding opportunity, went for it.  I could see Kalluk giving them "the look", then he went after them.  Crows are very smart, so, of course, they just fly up out of his reach, and land on the other side of him, so he turns around and chases them again.  He kept up this back-and-forth for a bit, and then decided that perhaps the best course of action was just to take his bone with him and go into the corner.  The last I saw, the crows were waiting for him to doze off or lose interest in the bone, then victory would be theirs.

[Kinderchick]

I love watching Kalluk do anything at all!  Right now he is sitting on a rock in the water while eating something. 

[Kinderchick]

LOL, Elaine! Not to worry! 

[Elaine L]

Yes, Kinderchick, I am.  And good grief, I put the post in the wrong place.  If we are the only ones watching and commenting on the SDZoo cams, no one else will notice my mistake, but if others are reading the posts, I am sure they will be wondering what is happening with the elephants.

[Kinderchick]

Are you talking about the polar bears, Elaine?

[Elaine L]

Kalluk and his sister really dazzled the crowds today while in the pool.  He grabbed her and slammed her up against the viewing window a couple of times, grabbed her in a bear-hug and practically squeezed the life out of her, then got her in a headlock and tried to drown her; of course, not really.  At the end of all this thrashing about, Kalluk planted his butt on the window, while his sister took off in a huff.  Human wrestlers could not have put on a better show today than these two.