Brookfield Zoo to welcome polar bear from Oregon

BROOKFIELD, Ill. (WGN) — The polar bears at the Brookfield Zoo are gearing up to welcome a new roommate from Oregon this fall.

Officials from the Brookfield Zoo announced Thursday that an 8-year-old polar bear named Amelia Gray would soon be joining the pack in the Great Bear Wilderness exhibit.

Amelia Gray, an 8-year-old polar bear, will join polar bears Hope and Hudson later this fall.

Amelia Gray is coming to Chicago from the Oregon Zoo, where she is known as a playful and curious bear.

“We look forward to welcoming Amelia Gray to Brookfield Zoo Chicago, as her arrival is a powerful opportunity to educate the community of the critical need to protect this vulnerable species,” Mark Wanner, associate vice president of animal care and conservation at Brookfield Zoo Chicago said. “With declining populations in the wild, zoos play an invaluable role in understanding polar bears and ways we can help protect their populations in the wild.”   

According to officials, Amelia Gray’s arrival will support the zoo’s efforts to deepen their understanding of challenges facing polar bears in the wild as it works to find solutions to the species’ threat of extinction. 

Zookeepers say Amelia Gray’s transfer from Oregon will offer her the chance to spend time with a male polar bear, with the long-term goal of raising cubs someday.

But before she begins making friends with her new roommates, Amelia Gray will spend some time getting acclimated to her new habitat at the Brookfield Zoo.

Amelia Gray’s arrival is just the latest development in the zoo’s long-term work in polar bear care and conservation.

Officials say experts at the zoo driven and supported groundbreaking research into polar bear behavior, development and care, including the first-ever CT scan on a living polar bear in 2019, which established vital medical baselines.

Additionally, the zoo’s work extends outside the boundaries of the enclosures as Brookfield Zoo is also part of Polar Bear International’s network of Arctic Ambassador Centers, which supports collaborative research, education and action programs that address challenges polar bears face in the wild.  

In the wild, polar bear populations face a high risk of global extinction.

Polar bears were the first species to be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and Zoo officials say rising global temperatures are causing more rapid and significant changes to their natural habitat.

Officials say as sea ice melts in the bear’s natural habitat, they are forced to swim longer distances across open water in search of prey, entering periods of fasting and living off fat stores. The fasting periods can have long-term impacts and can be detrimental to young bears and breeding adults that require plentiful prey to reproduce. 

“We still have gaps in understanding how climate change is affecting wild polar bears, and it’s essential that the bears in professional care help scientists learn more about their species,” Amy Cutting, vice president of conservation at Polar Bears International said. “These bears are perfect candidates to help because they already voluntarily participate in many care-focused behaviors and seem to find those experiences enriching.”

Zoo visitors can expect to see Amelia Gray as early as mid-October.

Visit the Brookfield Zoo’s website for more information or to purchase tickets.