Manitoba

Assiniboine Park Zoo's polar bear cubs move into Journey to Churchill

All seven polar bears at Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo are living in the Journey to Churchill exhibit, but it may be months before they're all hanging out together.

Zoo staff to start introducing 3 cubs to 4 older bears this fall

Polar bear cubs Blizzard, Star and Humphrey explore their new home in the zoo's Journey to Churchill exhibit. (Assiniboine Park Conservancy)

All seven polar bears at Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo are living in the Journey to Churchill exhibit, but it may be months before they're all hanging out together.

The zoo announced on Friday that staff have moved its three younger bears — Humphrey, Blizzard and Star — from the International Polar Bear Conservation Centre to Journey to Churchill.

The cubs join the other bears, Hudson, Storm, Aurora and Kaska, although the cubs will remain in a separate area of the exhibit for now.

"Now that the three cubs have grown in size, we felt that it was a good time to move them over to Journey to Churchill," Gary Lunsford, the zoo's general curator, said in a news release.

Star plays peek-a-boo for the first time in the tunnels of the Journey to Churchill exhibit at Assiniboine Park Zoo. (Assiniboine Park Conservancy)
Zoo visitors can find Humphrey, Blizzard and Star at the exhibit's Sea Ice Passage area, while the four other bears can be seen in the Churchill Coast area.

"They're all very happy in their new home and are enjoying the pool in the Sea Ice Passage. It will be great for our visitors to see them in an entirely new environment," Lunsford said.

Officials say they'll start introducing the cubs to the other bears later this fall.

Blizzard and Star were brought to the zoo in September 2014, after the orphaned brother-and-sister pair was spotted in northern Manitoba.

Humphrey, the younger brother of Hudson, was relocated to Winnipeg from the Toronto Zoo in March.