Another milestone for the Polar Bear Habitat in Cochrane.

They’ve opened up their 5-hectare space back up for Ganuk, Henry and Inukshuk…but this time the lake is frozen with a thickness of about a foot.

This is the first time captive polar bears can walk on and interact with natural ice of this thickness and size.

The thickness is good enough to handle the bears that grow to be over 1,000 pounds. Henry, who isn’t fully grown, comes in at a whopping 650 pounds.

Access to the lake enclosure in winter provides not only new and natural enrichments for our polar bears but will also open research opportunities here at the habitat.

As part of the following interview, a question comes up in regards to the effect climate change has on polar bears in general.

Filed under: Local News