12 The Detroit Zoological Society (DZS) recently bid a fond farewell to two of its most beloved residents — twin polar bear cubs Astra and Laerke. These cubs, who were born at the Detroit Zoo in 2020, moved this spring to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington. The transfer was recommended by Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) polar bear population experts. Sisters Astra and Laerke were born on Nov. 17, 2020, to mother Suka and father Nuka. Just two days after her birth, however, Laerke suffered a medical emergency – separating her from her sister and leaving her weak and in need of constant, intricate lifesaving care from the DZS’s animal care staff. The cubs were apart for more than two years before reuniting in spring 2023 at the Detroit Zoo’s Arctic Ring of Life habitat – and since then, they have been inseparable, spending many days at the Zoo playing and roaming around the Arctic Ring of Life. At more than two years old, Astra and Laerke are at an age when they would be living on their own in the wild, away from their mother – so this move is natural and necessary for their continued development. “These girls have a huge piece of my heart. I love them dearly and will miss them, of course, but I also know what is best for them,” says ZOO SAYS GOODBYE TO POLAR BEAR CUBS A fond FAREWELL
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