Twin polar bear cubs born more than two years ago at the Detroit Zoo are now calling Tacoma home.
The cubs, Astra and Laerke (pronounced LAIR-keh), arrived at Tacoma's Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium on Friday (June 2) and will make their public debut June 15.
The move occurred under authorization from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Division of Management Authority, the Tacoma zoo said in a news release this week.
The zoo noted that the sister cubs are happy to be together after a previous separation.
"Just two days after her birth in November 2020, Laerke had a medical emergency that left her weak and in need of constant, lifesaving care from her care team," the zoo said in its release. "While Astra continued to live with her mother, Laerke was raised in human care and then spent several months sharing a habitat with Jebbie, an orphaned grizzly bear. Earlier this spring, Astra and Laerke were successfully reintroduced and are now inseparable."
Last fall, the zoo submitted permitting plans to the city to overhaul the polar bear exhibit, removing existing concrete surfaces in the exhibit and replacing them with sand, along with adding a sun shade to be used in the warmer months, and adding an outdoor log structure and an exterior automatic watering station.
The cost was projected at just under $400,000.
"We've replaced rockwork with soft sand so it's paw-friendly, and we've added a tall log structure so Astra and Laerke can practice their climbing skills," said Point Defiance Zoo assistant curator Sheriden Ploof in Monday's release. "And we expect both bears to spend many happy hours playing and swimming in their deep saltwater pool."
Upgrades to the polar bear habitat were one of several projects funded by a $198 million bond issue approved by voters in 2014. Of that amount, more than $65 million was earmarked for capital improvements at the zoo.
The exhibit opened in 1982 as part of the zoo's Rocky Shores/Arctic Tundra section. The zoo said in its release it has been home to polar bears among its animal exhibits for more than 80 years and "the zoo's animal care and veterinary teams have decades of experience caring for polar bears."
The zoo's last surviving polar bear, Blizzard, died in May 2022 at age 26. The bear was humanely euthanized after suffering a rapid decline from liver cancer, diagnosed in September 2021.
The zoo's other polar bear, Boris, 34, believed to be the oldest male polar bear in the world, was humanely euthanized in September 2020 following a significant health decline.
Ahead of the cub transport, Ploof and three other caregivers traveled to Detroit to meet the bears and study their personalities, favorite foods and daily routines, according to the Tacoma zoo.
In a statement, Betsie Meister, associate curator of mammals for the Detroit Zoological Society, said in May that while the zoo was sad to see the bears go, "the Detroit Zoo is so proud to have played a role that influenced how these two cubs grew up. With that said, we know they are going to a great home at Point Defiance Zoo ... and we are confident they will thrive in their new environment."
The new young residents appear to be making themselves at home in their new surroundings, according to zoo staff.
"Both bears are smart, high-energy bears who love to splash, pounce and play together in the water," Ploof said in Monday's news release. "Astra is confident, independent and inquisitive while Laerke is more cautious and gentle."
