Polar Bears: Meet Kalluk and Tatqiq
Posted at 1:32 pm January 31, 2007 by Kelly Murphy
There are four polar bears living at Polar Bear Plunge at the San Diego Zoo. In my last blog, I introduced you to our pair of sisters (see Polar Bears: Meet Chinook and Shikari). Now I’d like to introduce you to the kids. By kids, I mean Kalluk and Tatqiq. I should mention that they just passed their sixth birthday and are therefore coming into adulthood. But I’ve had the privilege of caring for them since they were six months old, and they will always be the kids to me.
Kalluk and Tatqiq still spend a good portion of the day playing, sometimes with toys, sometimes with each other, and even occasionally with Zoo visitors, interacting through the glass. They, too, will enjoy a comfy bed when it’s naptime. But the golden rule is that there must be a pillow. Obvious choices would be browse material, the toy of the day, and even the pebble rocks that line the beach area. For Kalluk, sometimes his sister fulfills that job. But their favorite hobby is exposed when they’re in the bedrooms. They see who can create the most difficult obstacle course. The more toys, mats, and bedding that can be stuffed in the door tracks, wedged in drinkers, and blocking doorways, the better. Just one of the many challenges that faces the keeper each day!
While there are definite similarities between the bears as well as their wild counterparts, all four are very different and have their own personalities I’ve come to know and love. The polar exhibit is one of the favorite choices for guests and is visited frequently. Unfortunately, I cannot communicate with everyone all that I experience and update them on the happenings of the bears. Hopefully through this blog I can share stories and maybe answer some of the questions about polar bears you may have.
Kelly Murphy is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.
Watch the polar bears daily on Polar Cam.
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January 31st, 2007 at 1:38 pm
Thanks, Kelly, for a peek into the bears’ personalities, can’t wait to learn more. How old are the two youngsters? Do you think that their ” engineering” attempts are related to being young?
January 31st, 2007 at 2:26 pm
im going to take a guess at who is who in the pic,Kalluk on the ground and Tatqiq on the hill?
January 31st, 2007 at 3:19 pm
Thanks, Kelly, for a peek into the bears’ world. I look forward to learning more about your experiences with them. They seem to have very different personalities.
Which of the bears seems to be pacing a lot this week? One stays near the tall rocks and paces for hours. Another one, possibly the same one, paces between the tall rocks and the beach area on the right side of the camera view of the exhibit. I tried to tell by coloring and size but am not sure.
What type of rotation are the bears on? Half-days, alternating days???
Wish I lived close enough to see them in person. They are fascinating to watch, especially during the warmer weather when they swim more, and when the lights are on in the pool at night.
February 1st, 2007 at 9:43 am
Learning about the 4 polar bears has been great fun. I really love visiting them, especially on snow days, but it’s fun watching them swim, too! After reading about the bears, I went to the polar bear page and read about each one and noted that their favorite colors were listed. How did you determine what their favorite colors are? Can polar bears see a full range of color? Thanks, Kelly, for sharing with us!
February 1st, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Is someone working on the Polar Bear web cam? Now that we have been introduced to each of the bears, we are excited to watch them to see if we can tell which is which, and follow their antics. But, we can’t see them yesterday or today.
February 3rd, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Since I read earlier that you do not plan to breed the polar bears, will you be separating Kalluk and Tatqiq once they are mature adult bears? Will you use some form of birth control so they can remain together. Or, do polar bears not mate with relatives?
February 12th, 2007 at 7:39 am
Great pictures of Tatqiq(?) playing with the iceberg at 6:20 AM PST today. First she gave it the once over on land. Then when it got into the water, she is alternating between going into the shallow water on the ledge and swimming out to it, or climbing back onto the rocks to dive off. She can’t make up her mind to do either one. The iceberg is in the water slightly out from the rocks. It reminds me of a child trying to decide whether to dive in or swim out to it. Finally she either was called inside, or gave up and walked away.
I hope Kalluk comes out soon and gives it a go.
February 16th, 2007 at 6:58 am
Hi, Kelly, Which bear was swimming at 5:55 AM PST this morning? I love watching the bears swimming when it is pitch black everywhere except in the lighted pool. It is an awesome sight.
Please keep us posted on the bears activities.
February 22nd, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Love the shot of one of the bears lounging on the big log this morning. It was priceless. Every so often they would lift their head and look around and then down it went and off they dozed again. I have not seen them in this position before. Do they spend much time in this area of the exhibit normally, or are you focusing on it this week? Normally they seem to spend more time in the water area. Maybe they have been here all along when we couldn’t see them in the beach and pond area, and they were just out of camera view??? It is hard to focus a camera on such a large exhibit. What blessed bears they are to have so much diverse area to explore and enjoy!