.png)
By Hannah Cease
On March 24, 1981, the Louisville Zoo welcomed its first ever polar bear cub, Maku.
Over 40 years later, the conservation efforts at the Louisville Zoo continue with Bo and Qannik. Qannik was born in Alaska in January 2011 where she was tracked and monitored along with her mother and one other sibling. In late April that same year, Qannik was seen again but this time separated from her family. Polar bear cubs tend to stay with their mothers for up to two years while learning how to survive and hunt. Qannik was much too young to make it on her own and after an unsuccessful aerial search was conducted to locate the mother, she wandered near shore where she was rescued. She found her permanent home in Louisville in June 2011 where in collaboration with USFWS, it was determined to be the best home to meet her needs and help her flourish. Qannik has since become a beloved member of the Louisville Zoo as well as an important “spokesbear” in helping to teach the public about polar bears and what we can do to help them.
Bo came to the Louisville Zoo in February 2024 from Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wisconsin as a mate for Qannik. The two have spent almost a year getting used to each other's scent and presence. Just in time for Valentine's Day, the pair was given the green light to remove physical
barriers between the two for “courting season." Polar bear mating season is usually in the spring and summer and if the two mate successfully the Louisville Zoo could have a polar bear cub in as soon as eight months!
Hannah Cease is a McConnell Scholar in the class of 2026. She is studying biology on the ecology track.