A hunter near Point
Lay in the Arctic Circle was faced with a terrible situation after he shot and
killed a mother polar bear Monday. As an Inuit subsistence hunter, James Tazruk
is technically allowed to kill polar bears, but he never imagined that his latest
kill would leave a precious cub orphaned and alone.
When Tazruk realized
the bear he had killed was a nursing mother, he and his hunting partner made
the difficult and possibly dangerous decision to search for the cub. They found
it, huddled in the family's den about 1,500 feet away. Though the little thing
was only 18 pounds, small in polar bear size, Tazruk remembers being wary.
"I'm not going to hurt you, I'm going to take you home," he remembers
telling it. "Just don't bite me."
With cub in hand, the
real journey began. Tazruk says at first he tried carrying the cub under his
arm like a big, fluffy white puppy. A few miles in, his partner made a sling
out of some snow pants and the cub rested there fitfully as the pair made the
rest of the 40-mile snowmobile trip back to their town. The people of Point Lay
were charmed by the little animal, and named him "Kali," pronounced
"cully," which means "Point Lay" in the local dialect.
After spending a night
at the local police hall, the cub was transferred to another town, and
eventually made his way to the Alaska Zoo. Unfortunately, the zoo doesn't have
room for another permanent polar bear resident, but for now Kali is wiggling,
braying and cuddling his way into their hearts. Zoo officials estimate Kali will
spend a month recovering from his great adventure before he is given a more
permanent home. Already, Kali is gaining a following after pictures and videos
of his adorable antics circulated online. And yes, he is the most precious
thing ever.
Although Tazruk
regrets having killed the bear's mother, he knows he has helped provide the cub
with the next best thing: Shelter, care and a direct path to the hearts of
animal lovers everywhere.
"It was
unfortunate. I was saddened," Tazruk said. "I did the right thing by
bringing the bear back."
So what does this mean to me… and you? I had the opportunity
to see the adorableness that is a polar bear cub while he was at our local zoo.
Unfortunately a little foot surgery kept me from being able to see him as a
really little guy, but I was glad to be able to catch a “glimpse” of him before
he left for his more permanent home in Buffalo, NY.
Without further ado, I give you Kali, the polar bear cub!
He is quite playful... with plenty of toys in his enclosure. Apparently polar bears are attracted to anything that isn't white because it may be food. Works well for those of us being entertained by this little guy!
A couple videos so you can see Kali in action...
And... back to the still shots.
He would run and jump and slide around on the snow... very fun to watch! It was difficult to photograph through the bars of his enclosure, but I still couldn't resist clicking away.
Just starting to run... beginning with a leap.
Playing with a ball...
And a stick...
And a plastic fort/castle type thing!
Ooh, lunch time!! From the videos of his first couple bottle feedings at the zoo, he has come a LONG way in this regard. That bottle was gone in no time!
Wait... I'm still hungry! Where are you GOING?!?!
A little monkey!
Back to the toys... I think this one is pretty cute.
In this one, I think you can really see how he's growing into an adult. Wow. A bit more intimidating than the cute little fur ball that arrived at the zoo in a pet carrier!
Hehe... posing perhaps?!
Back to the toys... this went on for quite a while. Toys... fence... toys... fence... etc.
This one is not Kali, but it IS what he will be growing into! This is one of the adult polar bears at the zoo. I had to stop by and see them on my way out that day. They're the whole reason to go to our zoo, in my opinion.
If you happen to find yourself near Buffalo, NY, you should
stop by their zoo and see Kali for yourself! ‘Til next time…
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