PRESS ROOM

ROYAL OAK, Mich., 

A 29-year-old female polar bear named Tundra has found a new home on the tundra – and the pack ice – of the Detroit Zoo’s Arctic Ring of Life.  The bear will be relocated this month from the Indianapolis Zoo, which today announced it is permanently closing its polar bear exhibit.

“The Arctic Ring of Life is an incredible facility for this polar bear to spend the remainder of her golden years,” said Scott Carter, chief life sciences officer for the Detroit Zoological Society (DZS).  “She will receive the best possible care during her time here and enjoy the comforts of this expansive, naturalistic space.”

In the wild, polar bears have an average life span of 15 to 18 years.  In captivity, as is the case with many animals, polar bears tend to live longer due to the health care and nutrition provided by veterinarians and animal care staff.

The Arctic Ring of Life, opened in 2001, is one of the largest habitats for polar bears in North America.  The state-of-the-art, interactive facility encompasses more than 4 acres of outdoor and indoor habitats and public spaces.  The bears have access to a grassy tundra, a freshwater pool, a “pack ice” area and a 190,000-gallon saltwater pool, as well as an indoor holding area.  Visitors can enjoy a spectacular view of the polar bears swimming above and around them from the 70-foot-long Frederick and Barbara Erb Polar Passage.

The Arctic Ring of Life is currently home to two polar bears, female Talini, 11, and male Nuka, 11.  Talini was born at the Detroit Zoo in 2004 to Bärle, who was rescued from a Puerto Rican circus and given sanctuary at the Detroit Zoo until her death in 2012.  Nuka arrived at the Detroit Zoo in 2011 as a potential mate for Talini.  The facility also houses arctic foxes and seals.

The polar bear is the largest land carnivore and the most carnivorous member of the bear family, with a diet that relies heavily on seals.  Polar bears range in size from 6 to 9 feet tall and can weigh anywhere from 450 to 1,400 pounds.  Populations of polar bears in the wild are decreasing as the climate warms and sea ice melts.  In the Arctic, polar bears spend the majority of their lives on sea ice, which they also rely on to hunt and to create maternal dens.  Their prey – seals – are also nourished by the ecosystem created by sea ice, which consists of plankton and micro-organisms. This rich food chain is disintegrating, causing a major threat to bears.

The DZS collaborates with the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the village of Kaktovik, Alaska, in field research to conserve polar bears.  The DZS also supports critical field research at Wrangel Island, in the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Russia.  Concurrent research in both countries is being done to understand the status of the entire population of polar bears and how the species is faring as a result of climate change and increasing human use of habitats.