Buffalo Zoo Says Bon Voyage to Polar Bear Nanuq
The Buffalo Zoo will host a going away party for polar bear Nanuq this weekend.
The event will take place on Saturday October 13 and Sunday October 14 during regular Zoo hours. Activities will include keeper talks, polar bear feedings, polar bear slushies, and a bear-sized “bon voyage” card for children to sign. The first 100 children through the gates each day will receive special polar bear finger puppets. The Bon Voyage activities are free with regular Zoo admission. Anyone who brings in a Goya Foods item to donate to the Food bank of WNY will receive $1 off admission.
The bears are leaving so that the Zoo can prepare for demolition and construction of its new Arctic Edgeexhibit.
Though construction for Arctic Edge is not slated to begin until the spring, Nanuq, the Zoo’s male polar bear, is leaving the Zoo now so that he may be acclimated to his new Zoo habitat in time for the next breeding season. Departure plans for Anana, the Zoo’s female polar bear, are not yet finalized.
Construction for the new Arctic Edge exhibit is expected to begin in spring 2013. The exhibit, which will also house bald eagle, arctic wolf, and Canadian lynx, is projected to open in 2015.
For more information about Bon Voyage Polar Bears event, call (716) 995-6133 or visit www.buffalozoo.org
The Buffalo Zoo thanks Goya Foods for sponsoring the current bear exhibit.
