Officials with Winnipeg’s zoo announced Thursday that the facility will soon be getting a polar bear, who will be the first inhabitant for the zoo’s upcoming Journey to Churchill exhibit, slated to open in 2014.
“This is so exciting for all of us at the Assiniboine Park Zoo and a big step forward in the Zoo’s polar bear program,” said Tim Sinclair-Smith, Director of Zoological Operations at the Assiniboine Park Zoo.
The one-year-old polar bear, named Hudson, was the sole surviving cub in a litter of three, born in October 2011.
He had been housed at the Toronto Zoo and will arrive in Winnipeg in the next couple of weeks.
Zoo officials in Winnipeg said the International Polar Bear Conservation Centre will be Hudson’s temporary home for the next 16 to 18 months, until the completion of the Journey to Churchill exhibit in 2014.
Winnipeg's zoo has been without a polar bear since the animal Debbie died in 2008.
A date hasn’t been set yet for when the public will be able to view Hudson.
The Assiniboine Park Zoo said they hope as Hudson nears maturity, he can be paired with a female to contribute to the Species Survival Plan breeding program.
