Chinook and her “beauty mark.”
Our girl Chinook had an exam today. The good news is she is a very healthy lady! But we did take the opportunity to do a little cosmetic work. Our Veterinary Services Team removed her “beauty mark.” The concern was that it had grown a bit and had started to work into the lower eyelid; not a problem now, but in the future it would be more difficult to remove. She will be back joining Kalluk and Tatqiq Friday morning.
For now, you will be able to tell Chinook from Tatqiq because of the patch just below her left eye, but soon it will fill in with fur!
JoAnne Simerson is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, Polar Bears: Well, Chinook?
Even though it’s always nerve-racking putting an animal under anesthesia, it must be so exciting getting to touch and look at up close a live polar bear! Chinook is my very favorite SDZ resident, so I’m extra jealous of her keepers and also really glad to hear her annual and procedure went well!
On that note, is Chinook’s (and other polar bears’) fur as soft as it looks?
Not really. The fur is made up of two layers: the top guard hair and the bottom wooly layer. The guard hair is a bit more stiff, and as its name implies guards the skin against wind and some water. The underlayer is much softer and wooly and can get quite dense and can almost appear like a wool coat on a sheep.
Oh good for the beauty mark but no babies for Ms. Chinook?
Moderator’s note: Not this time.
Awe…Chinook will be more beautiful now, if that’s possible. So glad she went through that without issue, and that she is healthy. Thank you for the update. Love to all our beautiful bears. xoxo
thanks. I never noticed Chinook’s beauty mark. it’s a challenge to tell Chinook from Tatqiq. I’ll try to look for that patch. is Chinook the one who likes to walk forwards and backwards at the far end of the pool (closest to where the tour bus stops occasionally)? I couldn’t tell if that might be Kalluk?
The one who likes to walk forwards and backwards is most likely Kalluk, shaking off his frustrations during breeding season. Kalluk is also the biggest bear of the trio, so I hope that is a helpful comparison when you have Kalluk and another bear on cam.
Chinook’s beauty mark was difficult to see, simply of the camera angles and distance. However, now that Chinook’s beauty mark is removed, I shall rely on the size of the bellies of these female bears. Chinook still has a rounder belly and a fuller bum. Tatqiq is simply petite and dainty, and most of the time, I see her lounging on top of the rock platform nearest to the sand and the experience wall. But when the girls are playing in the water, I look for a skinnier face to identify Tatqiq. Hopefully this helps.
Also, if they are laying to where you can see feetsies, Tatqiq’s are fuzzy, and you can barely see her black pads. Chinook’s pads are clearly visible.
Sometimes I look at their ears. Chinook’s ears have a more “teddy bear” look, whereas Tatqiq’s are set lower on her head and don’t stick up. Tatqiq has a high, rounded brow.
thanks. wow, you guys really study your polar bears. lately I’ve noted Chinook’s tummy looks rounder and her back also looks rounder in profile. I try to compare their beards too. Kalluk has no beard. Tatqiq has a little beard. Chinook has a full beard. but I still have to fall back on their favorite spots and behaviors.
Does this mean no cub this year?
I would think that surgery wouldn’t be done if you thought she was pregnant.
I have never watched polar cubs before and have been waiting to see if this would be the year!
Go to explore.org there are cams from all over the world including the twins Polar bear cubs born in Sweden and the Siku cam they are amazing.
Awe..Chinook will be more beautiful now…if that’s even possible. Glad to hear all went good and she is healthy. Don’t want our girl to not be able to see Kalluk when he’s chasing after her…lol.
I see other patches on ms Chinook (left side of neck, right side, maybe her right front elbow?)…did they remove other moles or was this just what they did for the exam?
Moderator’s note: It’s all part of the yearly physical exam.
While she was having the cosmetic surgery did you have the opportunity to also do a more complete physical?
Moderator’s note: Yes.
Hello,
I agree…all you polar bear lovers out there, you have given us other signs to look for on these beautiful creatures to be able to tell them apart, and I was wondering too, if their fur is as soft as it looks. Thank you for all you do!
No. I have a sample at home that I use in my programs. It feels sort of like horse hair. Even so, everyone wants to touch it and stroke it. When I first got it, I couldn’t keep my hands off it.
Thank you, Diane! It just looks so soft! Nice and thick too. Thank you again for the answer. Have a great day!
Ah, sweet Chinook. Now she looks like one of those football players with the black swipe under their eye… very sassy.
She is stll my lovely girl and the other two monsters we love you all three Barbara from Phoenix.
I checked in on the polar bears this afternoon and noticed Kalluk raising himself up at the edge of the pool, then splashing back down. For a little while I thought it was his usual repetitive behavior. but I am concerned when after more than 15 minutes it seems to be still exactly the same repititon and in the same spot. I hope someone will be able to explain what is going on.
Oh, now I can breath with relief. Just after I sent my post of concern over Kalluk’s strange behavior ( at least I think it’s him with such a long neck) I looked back at the cam. There the cam was scrolling around the exhibit, shwoing Chinook strooling around the doors, the the cam showed the pool and two other bears rolling and splashing with a red ball. One bear climbed out, while the other turned a summersalt in the water before pulling a palm branch off the point.
I guess it was just another of Kalluk’s strange repitious behaviours.
I think it’s just that he’s warm for somebear’s form. If he was a human, he’d probably go to the gym.
It’s not quite “strange” if you understand why Kalluk does this. It is Kalluk’s way of shaking off his frustrations during breeding season. I guess there must have been something that happened between Chinook and him to trigger it. It is not a major concern; I am sure that the loving animal care staff at SDZ will do something if it goes out of hand.
Why has Kalluk recently been going to the deep end of the plunge and bobbing in and out and shaking his head back and forth, over and over? I have watched the bears for a little over 5 months now and have never seen this behavior from him until recently. Is he trying to communicate something to the keepers or what. Please help us understand this.
Moderator’s Note: Your questions have been sent to the polar bear team.
I am concerned about him, its going on 15min or more that he’s doing the same thing over n over. If its a breeding thing, whos he doing it for, chinook is no wear around.
Kalluk has been bobbing ALL day long!! He has not stopped to take his nap!! While I understand previous explanations for this behavior, all day long, non-stop seems excessive. I am getting really worried about him!!
Polar team responds: Please don’t worry about our boy. We monitor him very closely -24 hours! We do make sure that he is resting. During this season of his breeding drive he often patterns of the lapping for long hours then napping for long hours. Right now he is sleeping almost all night so most of us miss the sleeping! He may alter this as time goes and you’ll see him sleeping more. The day hours are more difficult as there is more stimulation for him to get him going. We do know that males in the wild experience strong breeding drives at this time and often go without food in search of a mate. Luckily for Kalluk when he comes out of this there will be plenty of food waiting him. Males in the wild now have to contend with an earlier ice melt and the possibility of no summer hunting!
I’m not all that familiar with polar bear behavior so I hope you’ll forgive my questions if you’ve already addressed them elsewhere.
So are you saying that during this breeding season he really doesn’t eat?
Also how long will these repetitive movements last?
Also, has he mated with Chinook yet? How often will they mate?
Sorry for all of the questions, just curious.
maybe Kalluk is “taking a cold shower” to cool down his hormones(??). once I saw Chinook do that sort of pacing back and forth behavior, she was looking at the polar bear park from the rock area so I felt like she wanted to go in the park.
This Saturday I was at the amazing polar bear plunge and I got to talk with one of the female keepers (sorry i did not get her name). I was there when i thought the interactive feeding would happen, but its under construction. So from just standing near by the keeper was so nice and so helpful she answered all of my questions (and I had several). I just wanted to give an extra thank you for all of your hard work and being so nice!
One of the best things she told me, was the bears are so friendly they actually like keeper contact and she gets to scratch them through their bedrooms some times. I’m so jealous! Well i bought my own little stuffed polar bear to take home for now, but i’ll always watch the beautiful bears in the plunge.
Thanks again to the helpful Keeper from Saturday!
Browsing through the polar bear photo gallery and admiring the wonderful shots taken of the Chinook, Tatqiq and Kalluk, I am struck by the angles of the photos. It almost appears that the photographer is IN the exhibit. Can you give a little insight into how these photos are achieved? Compliments to the photographer!
How does one find this photo gallery? I can’t find any pix of the bears and I am trying to learn to tell them apart.
Moderator’s note: It links from the Polar Cam page, or you can click here…
I know that Tatqiq is destined to live her life as a spinster and is on birth control. Even so, I notice she’s sprouted a lovely little puff of fur at the back. Too bad there’s no mate for her. I think she’d be a good mother, very doting.
Glad Chinook is doing well and came thru her physical with flying colors. Maybe this will be the year for Chinook to have a cub. She would make a good mama. I will have to look for Chinook before the hair grows back.
The cam viewing today is awesome so far. Chinook playing with a white barrel behind the scenes, Tatqiq trying to coax her out to play and Kalluk doing his be-bopping in and out of the water. I am rooting for Chinook to get that barrel out of the door and into the exhibit. Would like to see her reaction when it rolls into the plunge…..LOL. Good job everyone!
Nuts! I missed it! All I see now is… zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
The barrel is now in the plunge. Don’t know how it got there, but its a fun fun day for me as well as the bears. Thanks!
do the polar bears eat the palm fronds? sometimes Tatqiq seems to chew on them and Chinook is chewing on some now. would this be nutritional for them or they just do it for fun?
They don’t eat the palm fronds; they may shred them to use as bedding, which is probably what you are noticing.
thanks, that would make sense. the chewing seems to occur during bed making.
a very dirty polar bear is simultaneously taking a nap and a shower. (?Kalluk?) practical multi-tasking.
Tatqiq had a fun time playing with the white barrel. she jumped up and down on the barrel with her forelegs. it was her bouncy toy. she is a clever polar bear.
as Debbie noted, I was thinking that Tatqiq’s bouncing was like pouncing on ice. so that must be a instinctual behavior I suppose (?). I don’t remember Tatqiq and Kalluk’s histories except they came to the zoo very young to be hand reared. I suppose they would not have learned to break ice in the wild.
Moderator’s note: You may enjoy reading Polar Bear Anniversary.
Read the article…fascinating blog. How would one pronounce Piasuk? Their names are so appropriate. I love the meaning for Kalluk, “sea of thunder”.
thanks for the link. I’d read it and forgotten that they were born wild. then maybe they had watched their mother pounce on the ice. cute pictures.
So happy to see the bears haven’t lost their instinct to pounce on things, as they would on the ice for seal. Do they ever get a treat once in a while to eat seal behind the scenes? I know that seems cruel, but it is their mainstay isn’t it? I know they get bones,carrots,lettuce,rabbit, but how much fish do they get a day? So many questions, I know, but curious minds want to know…lol.
Moderator’s note: Polar bears at the San Diego Zoo get a special ground-meat diet made for zoo carnivores, dog kibble, trout and other fish, as well as root vegetables and lettuce as treats. Cow femur bones and thawed rabbits are added once or twice per week.
Kalluk is doing his bob of distress again. It amazes me that he has it so down pat that each time is exactly like the previous one. Chinook, you ought to be impressed by this! Give the boy a chance! lol
For all my fellow bear friends here is a great NatGeo 45 minute movie with grizzly bears and polar bears coming together. I think Casey Anderson has the best life ever because he has a grizzly bear as a pet, and Brutus (his grizzly bear) was the best man at his wedding!
But with these bears coming back together and in contact with one another, could it be possible that a polar bear and a grizzly bear could mate? What do you think bear team?? Have you all ever had Casey Anderson out to your zoo to meet the bears?
As much as I like Casey Anderson, I think he is a little bias towards grizzly bears. I think polar bears win in a bear fight 9/10 times. Also, I wish I could be that close to a live polar bear.
To Jason T. I think you forgot to attach the movie.
My error. I was the block for web site and I put it in there and it did not appear in my message. Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOBujrezJVE .
When will Chinook go into season? Will SDZ attempt to breed Chinook again? I really wish she could have babies, I think she will be a great mom.
Moderator’s note: Kalluk has been breeding Chinook this month.
if Chinook would be with cub, would we have to wait until the end of the year again to find out if she is or not? I am rooting for the two lovebears.
Yes, bears have an annual cycle. If breeding was successful, there is what is called a “blastocyst” inside Chinook. Or maybe two or three. During the spring and summer, it will stay there, deep inside her. If she finds enough to eat to sustain her during a pregnancy — to go into the den, to fast for several months, and to produce the milk without feeding herself during that time — then in the fall, her body will get a go-ahead signal. The blastocyst will then attach to the wall of her uterus and become a fetus. In the wild, she would then begin to think about finding a good place to build a den. That would be maybe in October. The cubs would be born several weeks later, from late November through to the first part of next January.
Thank you Diane, very good information and learning session. Now, another question, how long will Chinook and Kalluk breed?
That I don’t know. I guess the best answer would be: As long as they want to. It’s all controlled by the hormones in her body. As much as he may be in the mood, she has to be in the mood too, and it’s the hormones that tell her that. She will come “into estrus”, but she also needs sexual activity to stimulate her body to ovulate. It’s similar, but not identical to menstruation.
In the wild, if he left, she’d start looking for another mate. When her hormone levels drop, she’ll lose interest in sexual activity, and if there’s still a mate around, she’ll tell him to get lost. Poor guy!
Just read about snow day, can’t wait to see the trio enjoy there much needed snow day.
Where did you read about the snow day, and when is it?
Moderator’s note: It’s posted on Polar Cam: Feb. 9. Hope you can watch!
YAY!!! Snow day!! Can’t wait!
I will be glued to the cam! I just love these three, can’t get enough. You all do a wonderful job, kudos to the whole staff, and thank you.
What time does the snow day start?
Moderator’s note: 9 a.m.
Moderator any idea of when the polar bears will be featured on the Wishlist?
Moderator’s note: Well, they’ll be receiving snow, which was on the Wish List, on February 9. Not sure when it will be their “turn” again.
Ms. Chinook is so cute with her carrots. Does the carrots help supplement for something they aren’t getting in their diets that they would get in the wild? Hope that question came out right.
I am going through second thoughts on my late in life career because crunching numbers is not as much fun as taking care of these beautiful animals.
What is being thrown into the exhibit to the bears?
Honeydew melon!
LOL…thanks, it looked like corn on the cob.
Our class has enjoyed watching the bears sleep and play. We have a question about what is happeneing in the water. When the bear goes down, comes up and sways his/her head from side to side, are they eating fish? We see them from the back and have tried to guess what they are doing. It happens a lot, and we still are not sure.
Thank you!
(I went back and read previous posts without my class… I think I understand now!)
hahaha, you must be relieved that you read the explanatory posts (about Kalluk’s pacing) without your class. close one!
oh my gosh… watching one of the bears — possibly Tatqiq doing a great job balancing — actually doing a barrel roll in the water. She’s pretty good — she will stand on it then start walking. It’s very funny and she seems to be having a great time entertaining herself.
Why are all web cams now blocked “due to content”?
Moderator’s note: Are you having trouble viewing our web cams?
Those polar bears are hilarious. Have just been watching one for 10 minutes doing the back stroke across the pool, doing a ‘flip turn’ at the other side, swimming under water back to the beginning , putting his paws on the rocks, arching his back and taking off on his back to the other side to do his flip turn. It has had me in stitches!! Other antics have sure excited me other time also.
Wow… that barrel is the best thing ever! What fun Tatqiq!
Hi, Good Afternoon from Kansas!
I was wondering, I was watching one of the polar bear crew feed treats to the beautiful creature at the viewing area and I would like to know is there space between the cage/door and the visitors? I saw a small child crouching down and I couldn’t see very well if they were next to the cage/door area or not. Thank you in advance for your answer. I love what your doing!
Moderator’s note: There is a bit of space between keeper, guests, and bear during this special interaction.
Thank you! I knew there was space, it’s a common sense thing, I knew before I hit post comment! (I guess I wanted to make sure
)Everyone looked so comfortable, so at ease. It looked like everyone was having a great time. You & your crew do such a great job, thank you for all you do!
Do you know what time their snow enrichment will take place this Saturday?
Moderator’s note: It is scheduled for 9 a.m.
I hope the cam operaters are up and ready for the snow day, and focus in on the action. When the bears got their toys for christmas, we saw nothing…the cam stayed on the sand the whole time and we never got to see a thing.
Moderator’s note: Yes, there was a glitch in our system that time and we apologize.
I will be glued to the cam, thank you. But are you aware that you have been opened almost 2 1/2 hrs and the cam has been focused on a partial wall and the sand. Haven’t seen any of the bears yet.
I see they are power washing still, and the bears are not out yet, apologies.
Oh oh… hope for a glitch free system on snow day!!
What the heck happened to the concrete in the plunge? I hope it doesn’t affect snowday for the bears. I can’t wait!
Why are the bears so into crushing the barrel? is there something inside it they are trying to get to? is it a threat to them? I love watching them try to figure out how to get it on the rock then bounce away on it until it slips away and they dive in after it. it must be great enrichment for their minds, but it does make me wonder why something so simple as a barrel can be so interactive.
Swayze, I believe they are pouncing on the barrel just as they would on the polar ice to catch their seals. If you’ve ever watched any programming on polar bears, you will see that they use this maneuver to break the ice to get to the seals.
Whatever that white thing is, it’s very popular.
Is that Chinook in an area where she shouldn’t be…among the pine trees? I didn’t think she could get over the wall and fence.
Moderator’s note: That’s an off-exhibit area keepers call Polar Bear Park.
And the count down begins!!!! (For all of us in different time zones) Can’t wait to see this adorableness!! yay! Hurry up 9:00
To bad you can’t let the Artic foxes in on the fun with the snow. Do they get along with the Polar bears OK? I bet they would enjoy some snow too though. Maybe they could blow some of it over the fence for them.
Snow Day. So, we have three bears out. Kalluk is ignoring the snow and in the water do his dance of distress. Another bear (Chinook?) is ignoring the snow and seems to want to get back into the bedrooms. And another bear (Tatqiq?) is happily digging through the snow looking for treats. Sad. I remember when all three would play together in the snow piles and were such a treat to watch.
Hi Debi,
I have never seen snow day before. When I was watching, between 8:40 and 9:00 am, they were loving it! Maybe you tuned in when they were taking a break from rolling, digging, and sliding in the snow. My impression was ” wow, it doesn’t get any better than this!” It was so much fun. They were lying on their backs, rolling, with feet in the air.
Debi, what do you think has happened that they don’t play together anymore?
There is a bearin this video in the background who climbs partly up on the shore and waves his (hers?) head from one side to another. Could somebody tell me what’s he doing? He seems to do it quite often.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTNiqo2ikSE
That is Kalluk, and they tell me, its his frustration dance during mating season. Isn’t he a hoot. The first time I saw his behavior, I thought he was stuck on something in the water and needed help, LOL Silly me.
Thank You. I thought it could be something like that. The young fellows in our neighbourhood seem to behave a bit in the same way.
Tatqiq, Chinook & Kalluk + Snow = Happiness!
Thank you SDZ!!
I see Chinook and Kalluk, but where is tatqiq? Kalluk is more interested in Chinooks tushie than the snow….LOL This is awesome to see, especially Chinook doing somersaults in the snow, she is a precious one.
Yayyy, snow day !
Thoroughly enjoying seeing how happy the polar bears are in their snow. Thank you for the opportunity to share in their special day.
Tatqiq was so cute, she took a snowball and rubbed her face with it.
Just looking at the web cam just now, looks like our polar bear is telling her audience that she has snow, seems as if she is pointing over to it with her head swirls!!!!
So lovely to see!
I just saw something white walking inside their enclosure near the pine trees.It looked like a cat or an artic fox but was too far away to see. What was it???
Moderator’s note: Arctic foxes live next door to our polar bear habitat.
HOW does the camera person not see this? It keeps walking back and forth near the pine trees that are located near the mesh thing that the keepers feed the bears through. At one point it and the one bear walked right by each other! Is it in another part and just looks like it’s in their enclosure?
The foxes have their own enclosure, right next to the bears. Although it looks like they are together, they’re not. Same thing for the reindeer. But fencing and such keep everyone apart. It’s a testament to the zoo architects that it seems like they’re in the same enclosure when you see them on camera!
nice to hear that the polar bears had a good snow day. I wasn’t able to watch but hope there will be a video with highlights. I was wondering if the polar bears would be so acclimated to the zoo weather that they would find the snow a bit cold after a while (??)
The snow day was to be for the polar bears and the brown bears. The moderator said there would be a video of the brown bears playing in the snow because there was no cam with the brown bears. Moderator do you know when and where we can view this video? Will there be video of the polar bears as well?
Thanks
Moderator’s Note: Since the snow day was on the weekend the video would most likely be posted early this week.
Tatqiq is still havin fun in the snow…so glad its still hanging around, I would have thought it would have melted by now. She is my doll baby!
Gosh… I can’t believe the snow is still there… it has been pretty cold here at night — so I guess it hasn’t had a chance to melt. Sadly, the bears aren’t as interesting in it today. Guess that’s a good thing for me… since I really should be working instead of watching the polar cam ; )
thanks for posting the snow day video so quickly. wish it were a little longer but it was fun to see the bears playing. it looked like much more snow than I expected. hope they got to slide a bit.
I viewed the video of the polar bears in the snow, did they do a video of the brown bears in the snow? If they did where do I find it? Thank you
Moderator’s note: We did not, but perhaps one of our bear fans posted something on social media?
Chinook took a nice shower under the waterfall.
Chinook is now taking a dirt bath… she looks very relaxed.
Oh Chinook is such a beautiful polar bear!!!!!
I see Tatqiq chomping on a large bone. My question, does she just pull gristle off of it, or will she eat the whole bone breaking it up in pieces?
Ha-ha. Chinook is eating carrots at the edge of the pool, while right in front of her Kalluk is doing his neck-bobbing dance. She must be aware he’s close, but she certainly likes the carrots better!
Hello,
There are some pictures of the polar bears on my Flickr-site, mostly from SDZ PolarCam.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristina_a/sets/72157632790244294/
Way off subject, I know, but have you seen these little sweeties?:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ullij/8482183557/
Their mother is a Canadian bear, Frimas, and the cubs are Pixel (a male), and a little girl, Noordje.
I’m going to Germany later on and will see them, but it makes me sentimental that we don’t have any available to us. Tell Chinook to put some perfume behind her ears!
Diane, thank you for sharing. They are just adorable, and I am hoping the end of this year will be our girls time. They say Kalluk is breeding her, so that’s a wonderful sign for us. Just hope they keep doing it …..and doing it..LOL
Thank You for the link! They are sweeties indeed!
It looks like Tatqiq has had her check up recently with the shaved spots. I hope all went well!
at ll:24 AM PST, a polar bear ( not sure who this one is) is sleeping with its head on top of the rock. It had black patches in its “fore paws” and its hind left leg around the “knee area”. Is it OK? Are they bald spots from an exam? I know their skin is black so it may be showing some skin?
Moderator’s note: Yes, that’s Tatqiq, and the shaved spots are left over from her annual physical. We’ll have a blog about that soon.
Thanks.. I hope Tatqiq passed her exam in flying colors! I have never seen so many shaved spots on the polar bear like that
I’ve been watching Nikita and Berlin (Kansas City polar bears) playing today—they look like they’re having a great time in the snow. Too bad we can’t send some snow to the SDZ bears!
www (dot) kctv5.com/category/244581/nikita-polar-bear-cam
was that honeydew I just saw one of the bears eating?