{"id":548704,"date":"2026-03-20T09:25:33","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T09:25:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/548704\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T09:25:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T09:25:33","slug":"welcoming-polar-bear-yelle-to-wild-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/548704\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcoming Polar Bear ‘Yell\u00e9’ to Wild Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Wilder Institute\/Calgary Zoo has welcomed a new polar bear to Wild Canada. \u2018Yell\u00e9\u2019, a 20-year-old male, arrived on March 17, 2026, from Quebec\u2019s Zoo Sauvage de Saint-F\u00e9licien and is currently settling in behind the scenes for a quarantine period.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWelcoming any new arrival is always an exciting time, but\u00a0Yell\u00e9\u2019s\u00a0arrival is especially meaningful for our team,\u201d said Paul Woerner, Animal Care Manager (Wild Canada). \u201cWe\u2019ve been looking for the right companion for\u00a0Siku, and\u00a0having\u00a0Yell\u00e9\u00a0join\u00a0our zoo family\u00a0is a moment we\u2019ve all been eagerly anticipating.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once\u00a0Yell\u00e9\u00a0completes his\u00a0quarantine,\u00a0he\u00a0will be gradually introduced to\u00a0resident\u00a0polar bear\u00a0\u2018Siku\u2019\u00a0(10-year-old, male). Introductions will be carefully guided by the zoo\u2019s animal care experts,\u00a0based on the bears\u2019\u00a0behaviour\u00a0and comfort.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur team has extensive experience in caring for polar bears and managing introductions,\u201d said Woerner. The process will be gradual \u2014 starting with scent exchanges, then allowing the bears to see and interact with each other through a protective barrier, and\u00a0eventually sharing\u00a0space. Every step\u00a0will be\u00a0guided by careful observation and our knowledge of polar bear behavior to ensure\u00a0the safety,\u00a0comfort\u00a0and\u00a0wellbeing\u00a0of both bears.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since 2023, the Wilder Institute\/Calgary Zoo has served as an Arctic Ambassador Centre with Polar Bears International<\/a>, supporting efforts to raise awareness about the challenges polar bears face in a rapidly changing Arctic.\u00a0As ambassadors for their species,\u00a0Yell\u00e9\u00a0and Siku\u00a0help\u00a0guests understand the importance of protecting polar bear habitat\u00a0and\u00a0inspire\u00a0action\u00a0to support their conservation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Guests can expect to see\u00a0Yell\u00e9\u00a0exploring the Taylor Family Foundation Polar Bear Sanctuary in April. Until then, be sure to\u00a0follow the zoo\u2019s social media channels for updates and the latest\u00a0polar bear\u00a0news.\u202f<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Photos: Zoo Sauvage de Saint-F\u00e9licien<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Wilder Institute\/Calgary Zoo has welcomed a new polar bear to Wild Canada. \u2018Yell\u00e9\u2019, a 20-year-old male, arrived…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548705,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[49,48,66,323],"class_list":["post-548704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}