13.3.2026 by Inari Leiman
Polar bears celebrated the anniversary of the Republic of Estonia on the 24th of January with all their hearts 🐻❄️ 💙🖤🤍 🐻❄️
On th afternoon, as a flock of swans flew across the polar sky against a gray backdrop, polar bears Imaq and Inuk put on a spectacular show, romping both in the water and on land.
First, the polar bear cubs trotted after each other along the icy shore, gradually gathering courage. Then Imaq fished a broken blue barrel out from behind a log, dragged it to the water’s edge, and threw it into the water with a splash.
❄️ At first, she did not want to go into the cold water, but tried to move the water with his paw so that the barrel would float closer. Then, however, he went into the water, dragged the remains of the barrel ashore, and quickly began to dry himself on the snow. At the same time, Inuk took advantage of the opportunity and pushed the barrel back into the water.
And so it went on several times in a row: Imaq brought the barrel to the shore, Inuk slid it back into the water. Finally, both of them splashed into the pool, and amid the joyful cheers of the spectators, the fun continued both in the water and on the shore.
Don’t be alarmed that our young and active polar bears currently look dark gray, especially after going into the water: they have worn away their fur coats while playing, but the fur will grow back.
The polar bear sisters Skadi and Kaja, who live in the opposite enclosure, were calmer this time and spent more time playing on their own. But bears are especially fun because they come up with their own games. For example, Kaja the polar bear placed a wide plastic tube on top of various branches and then tried to take it off again.
Kaja
The polar bear house 🐻❄️ has a fun themed page called “Get to know Skadi the polar bear,” which helps you learn more about polar bears and how to help them. The exciting information game “Myth or Fact?” in the tropical house introduces the inhabitants of the polar regions and their survival skills. The game “Animals in the Snow” teaches you to sharpen your eyes. The theme month “Snow-White Animal Kingdom” lasts until Seal Day on Sunday, March 22 🦭
The macaques enjoyed the snowy weather.
Mars the manul seemed to be inspecting the enclosure.
Hmm, maybe it’s time for a proper Spring cleaning …. 🙂
🖋 News written by Inari Leiman – with a couple of captions by Mervi
Dear Inari and Mervi!
Thank you for the lovely story with the wonderful pictures. All 4 polar bears have enough toys to play the different games.
Hugs
Ludmila
Es heißt, man muss die Feste feiern, wie sie fallen!! Das haben Inuk und Imaq,ebenso Kaja und Skadi zum Nationalfeiertag auf ihre Weise wohl ausgiebig getan…👍🐻❄️🐻❄️🐻❄️🐻❄️😊
So sehr die Eisbären den Schnee lieben, sehnen sich andere Arten nach dem Frühling und der Sonne… Selbst Mars, der Manul mach schon mal Frühjahrsputz…🌤✊
Hello Inari,
Thank you for the lovely display by the polar bears, which you’ve captured so beautifully in your photos.
The bears often interact with one another when the toy is of interest to both of them.
The other animals love the snow just as much as the polar bears!
Dear Inari and dear Mervi!
It’s wonderful that the polar bears in Tallinn are doing so well and that they’re being kept suitably occupied, which they clearly appreciate. The playing polar bears are celebrating Independence Day in the loveliest way. They, the macaques and the manul will soon have to do without snow for quite some time, whilst many of the others are looking forward to spring. The manul is beautiful!
Thanks for showing us!
Hugs
Anke