Nuka has arrived in Karlsruhe

4.3.2024 – Source: Karlsruhe Zoo, Photos of Kap by Rebecca Roth

Kap’s waiting for a bride is over! A polar bear arrived at Karlsruhe Zoo today. The female Nuka comes from the Belgian zoo Pairi Daiza and meets Kap in Karlsruhe, who returned to Karlsruhe from Hagenbeck Zoo last summer. Together, the two animals will provide offspring in the medium term.

Kap: Finally my long waiting is over!

As part of the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP), Nuka was transferred to Baden, where Charlotte lived until December. However, as Charlotte did not have a breeding licence due to her genetics, this ring swap took place. Kap, born in Moscow on 16 October 2000, is considered to be one of the genetically most valuable polar bears in the EEP. He has only reproduced once so far.

“Apart from the current cub, its lineage is not represented anywhere else in Hamburg. It is hugely important for the conservation breeding of this species,” explained Zoo Director Dr Matthias Reinschmidt upon its arrival. “We are therefore absolutely delighted to now have a pair with whom we can breed and very much hope that the two bears will get along well,” emphasises the zoo director.

Kap: I have no flowers but maybe Nuka likes lettuce …

Nuka was born on 26 November 2016 at Aalborg Zoo in Denmark and has spent the past four years at Pairi Daiza Zoo in the Belgian province of Hainaut. From there, she was brought to Karlsruhe on a special transport. Unlike Kap, Nuka does not yet have any offspring.

Beautiful Nuka

Kap: You stupid bird – the lettuce is not for you!!

After her arrival, Nuka walked out of the transport crate docked to the indoor enclosure without any problems. “It was nice to see that she made contact straight away and also accepted a large portion of salmon oil from us,” reports enclosure manager Moritz Ehlers. When Nuka and Kap will be released together will be decided at short notice depending on the behaviour of the two polar bears.

Kap: I’m ready to meet Nuka – hopefully very soon!

The polar bear is listed as “endangered” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species by the World Conservation Union. The population in the wild is estimated at around 25,000 animals. The population is fragmented and spread across different areas of the Arctic region. The EEP aims to maintain a reserve population in captivity. In the wild, the species is endangered by climate change and the resulting dwindling ice, but also by the increased extraction of oil and gas in the Arctic regions.