Madison’s Henry Vilas Zoo announced Thursday that two polar bear twins—Suka and Sakari—will arrive at the zoo in time for the new Arctic Passage exhibit’s opening Memorial Day weekend, according to a press release.
The exhibit, spanning almost two acres, will be the zoo’s largest expansion since it opened 104 years ago. The two-and-half-year-old twins will make the new area their home along with grizzly bears and harbor seals.
The twins will be two of only 60 polar bears in North America housed in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The new exhibit will meet the most stringent standards of polar bear care, according to the release.
“We not only have winter weather that some days only polar bears can love, but soon our zoo will have one of the premier exhibits in the country to showcase these incredible animals,” Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said in the release.
The zoo also plans to work with the Polar Bear Species Survival Plan to match Suka and Sakari with other polar bears from AZA-accredited institutions to produce healthy cubs once they reach the proper age.
“This exhibit represents our vision for Henry Vilas Zoo’s future and also what AZA accredited zoos are doing as conservation organizations by … providing the best possible care for our animals,” Zoo Director Ronda Schwetz said in the release. “This is the beginning of the next century of excellence in care and conservation for our zoo.”
