Two orphaned polar bears from Churchill arrived in Winnipeg Tuesday evening.
The two cubs, one male and one female, were welcomed to the Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre at the Assiniboine Park Zoo.
The zoo said the two cubs will be quarantined for 30 days and will not be visible to zoo visitors.
The two young bears were brought into a holding facility in Churchill at the end of November after they were found malnourished and without an adult bear.
The province decided the move to the southern part of the province was necessary for the cubs’ survival.
“Based on a considerable amount of research on polar bears, and continued monitoring that goes on in the area. The unfortunate reality is that young cubs have very little chance of survival without their mother,” said Minister of Sustainable Development Rochelle Squires.
Squires said without a female to protect them, cubs are highly vulnerable to natural predators and also to the significant risk of starvation.
Churchill Mayor Mike Spence said in statement he was disappointed in the decision to move the bears and would like more stay going forward.
The zoo is now home to 11 polar bears. Seven reside in the Journey to Churchill exhibit and the other four, including the new cubs, reside in the Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre.
