Two polar bears are being encouraged by human matchmakers to mate, in an effort to further protect the species against extinction, USA Today reported.
Nanuq, the aging polar bear from Wisconsin, is being brought to Buffalo, New York to meet Anana, a female bear, in hopes that their pairing could result in some offspring.
Jim Hubing, director of the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wis., said zoo officials should know probably by late summer or early fall if she has conceived.
Last year, polar bears were added to the list of threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act, and scientists used careful genetic matching to pair the two bears to ensure genetic diversity.
Donna Fernandes, head of the Buffalo Zoo, said Nanuq is considered a good catch as a mating partner. Nanuq was captured in the wild as a cub in 1987 and, therefore, brings a unique new genetic code to the party, unlike polar bears born in captivity.
Nanuq and Nanook are alternative spellings of the Inuit word for polar bear.
His name comes from the classic 1922 documentary, Nanook of the North, about an Eskimo hunter in the Canadian arctic. The black-and-white film, directed by Robert Flaherty, became a classroom staple for generations of schoolchildren in the mid-20th century.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rescued the 22 year-old Nanuq, along with his brother Norton, in Alaska in 1987 after a hunter shot their mother. The following year he was flown to Henry Vilas Zoo.
Hubing said he is a happy bear that “lives well.”
Nanuq will be transported to Buffalo later this month in a specially outfitted truck, where he will be introduced to 8-year-old Anana, who was born in captivity. Neither bear has ever bred before.
Fernandes said they were most concerned about Nanuq’s age, adding that her zoo's doctors will perform a cardiac test first to make sure he can handle trip.
She said matching the two polar bears is like matching an 80-year-old male with a 20-year-old female.
"We're hoping it works and certainly willing to give it a try."
www.redorbit.com
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