PORTLAND, Ore. -- Nora the polar bear will be moving from Portland to Salt Lake City, Utah this fall, the Oregon Zoo announced Wednesday.
The beloved bear will relocate to Utah's Hogle Zoo in the fall. She is being moved so she can be introduced to another bear, Hope, who is about the same age as Nora.
The recommendation to pair Nora and Hope came from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The association's Species Survival Plan indicates young animals need companionship and should be placed together once they are mature enough to leave their mothers. In the wild, young bears leave their mothers at around age 2.
Nora was born in November 2015 at the Columbus Zoo. She was raised by caregivers in Columbus after her mother began leaving her unattended in the den for long periods of time. In September 2016, Nora came to the Oregon Zoo. She briefly spent time with the geriatric polar bear Tasul, but Tasul died in November 2016. Nora hasn't had companionship of another bear since.
“As hard as it will be for us to say goodbye in the fall, this is the right thing for Nora and we are really excited for her,” said Amy Cutting, who oversees the Oregon Zoo’s marine life area. “For a young bear that was hand-raised, the companionship of another bear will be so important for developing social skills. Nora has made a lot of progress, and this is an important next step in her life.”
RELATED STORIES
- Nora the polar bear arrives at Oregon Zoo
- Oregon Zoo-bound polar bear Nora draws big crowd in final Ohio zoo appearance
- Beloved Ohio polar bear 'Nora' moving to Oregon Zoo
Nora won't be moved until the fall because Hope, who was born at the Toledo Zoo in December 2015, is not yet old enough to leave her mother. The Oregon Zoo said they couldn't bring Hope to Oregon because of future construction on the zoo's new polar bear habitat.
“While we would love to welcome Hope to Portland, the timing’s not right since we’re gearing up for construction of our new Polar Passage habitat,” Cutting said. “But Hogle Zoo has a terrific modern polar bear habitat and an expert animal-care team. It will be a great place for these two young bears to get acquainted.”
Staff from Hogle Zoo will travel to Portland and spend time with Nora before she leaves and team from the Oregon Zoo will travel with her to Utah to ease the transition. “The polar bear community is tight-knit,” Cutting said.
“We all work together on easing transitions when bears move, and we share best practices for polar bear care," she said.
The Oregon Zoo's new polar bear habitat, Polar Passage, is expected to open in 2020. Learn more about it here.