24.1.2022 – Photos and story my Molly Merrow
Louisville Zoo in Kentucky is home to three special residents who were born in the wild. The zoo celebrated their birthdays on Saturday, January 22, with a festive party for Qannik the polar bear at Glacier Run, and a quieter day with vegetable treats for Helen, the second oldest gorilla in the world, at the Gorilla Forest. Punch the Asian Elephant matriarch stayed inside because of the cold but I am sure she got some treats.
Ice Princess Qannik
Polar bear cub Qannik was born on the North Slope oil fields in Alaska in January of 2011. She was separated from her mother and sister, probably because of a storm, and found alone in late April, lost and starving. She was taken to the Alaska Zoo, where she recovered and grew stronger. In late June, she was flown by UPS to the Louisville Zoo, which had just opened up its award winning polar bear habitat, Glacier Run.
During the Spring of 2011, polar bear fans all over the world were grieving the loss of Knut, who had died tragically at the Berlin Zoo on March 19 at the age of 4. The hopeful story around the rescue of little Qannik in Alaska brought a note of cheer to those sad days, as so many were rooting for this tiny little girl and following her story. Here’s a photo I took of Qannik shortly after she arrived in Louisville back in 2011.
As has happened every year in January since the arrival of Qannik, her friends and fans gathered to help her celebrate. This past Saturday, Qannik’s party featured some colorful ice buckets made with pumpkin, her favorite. Some nice chunks of meat were laid out for her, but greedy birds got there first, as Qannik was only interested in the pumpkin ice treats. She also got a new giant pickle.
A crowd gathered to sing Happy Birthday to Qannik, who paced back and forth in the overhead bridge as she waited for the door to open so she could descend the ramp to get to her treats. Male polar bear Lee watched the festivities from across the way. He had his own birthday party in November.
Helen the Western Lowland Gorilla
Just down the path at Gorilla World, Helen, the second oldest gorilla in the world, had her own quiet celebration. She was born in 1958 in West Africa. She lived at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago before coming to Louisville in 2002. She is the mother of had three children. Helen has long surpassed the life expectancy of 35 years for Western Lowland Gorillas in the wild.
Helen’s story also bring to mind the Berlin Zoo, as that is the home of Fatou, the oldest gorilla in the world, and Helen is only slightly younger, separated by a few months, but of course that is all estimated, for Fatou was also born in the wild.. Fatou celebrated her 64th birthday on April 13, 2021.
The keepers in Louisville made a poster about Helen in honor of her birthday, featuring interesting facts about the birthday girl. Helen was happy to receive guests on Saturday, as she sat munching on sweet potatoes and carrots, and playing with a giant plastic donut. Her great great granddaughter Kindi, age 5, played nearby.
Punch the elephant matriarch
Asian elephant Punch is marking her 52nd birthday, but it was too cold for the elephants to come out to play on Saturday. Punch is matriarch of a unique family. Her elephant companions are Mikki, an African Elephant, and Mikki’s two year old son Fitz, so Punch plays the role of Auntie.. Punch came to the Louisville Zoo in 1973 when she was about three years old. She had been born in the wild.
All in all, it was a fine day to celebrate a birthday.
Molly Merrow
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