Inuit names given to new polar bears

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This article was published 13/01/2017 (3206 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two orphaned polar bear cubs who recently arrived at the Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation have been given names.

Following an online poll that received nearly 4,000 votes per bear, the Assiniboine Park Zoo has named the two cubs Nanuq and Siku.

The female cub was named Nanuq, the Inuit word for polar bear, and the male cub Siku, the Inuit word for ice.

Names for the female cub were submitted by children and staff at the Churchill Children’s Centre and names for the male cub were submitted by conservancy staff. Both lists were then examined and narrowed down by representatives from the zoo and then presented to the public.

“We are so pleased with how many people voted for their favourite cub names,” Johanna Soto, curator of animal care and behavioural husbandry, said. “These cubs serve as ambassadors for polar bears living in the north whose habitat is threatened due to climate change. Involving the community in the naming process helps form that connection to the bears and inspire people to take positive actions in their own lives to combat climate change.”  

The two cubs are now on exhibit at the Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre in Assiniboine Park Zoo.