{"id":877992,"date":"2026-10-11T00:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T00:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/877992\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T00:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T00:04:09","slug":"oregon-zoo-alum-nora-the-polar-bear-shows-promising-signs-of-pregnancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/877992\/","title":{"rendered":"Oregon Zoo alum Nora the polar bear shows promising signs of pregnancy"},"content":{"rendered":"

WISCONSIN (KATU) \u2014 Zookeepers at the Henry Vilas Zoo in Wisconsin cannot confirm whether Nora the polar bear is pregnant but said on social media this week that they see several promising signs.<\/p>\n

Nora left the Oregon Zoo last year<\/a> as part of a plan to help grow the polar bear population.<\/p>\n

There is no pregnancy test for polar bears.<\/p>\n

Ultrasounds do not work because the animals have a thick layer of fat to stay warm.<\/p>\n

But from March to September, Nora gained 237 pounds, which is about one third of her body weight.<\/p>\n

This kind of weight gain is expected for a healthy female polar bear preparing for possible pregnancy and denning, according to the zoo.<\/p>\n

Another sign zookeepers mentioned is that Nora is spending more time in her den behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

PAST COVERAGE: Oregon Zoo’s Nora the polar bear helps in Arctic conservation efforts<\/a><\/p>\n

The zoo has recently upgraded her denning suite and camera system to keep a close watch on her without disturbance.<\/p>\n

The first few weeks after a polar bear cub is born are known to be the most vulnerable and risky.<\/p>\n

\"FILE<\/p>\n

FILE — Nora the 1-year-old polar bear cub is making her first public appearances at the Oregon Zoo starting November 28, 2016 since her move to the Pacific Northwest from the Columbus Zoo earlier this year. (KATU photo by Tristan Fortsch, file)<\/p>\n

First-time mothers, like Nora, have higher infant mortality rates compared to experienced mothers, according to the zoo.<\/p>\n

If Nora is pregnant, she would likely have a cub in December or January.<\/p>\n

Zookeepers are focused on giving Nora the best chance at a successful denning season.<\/p>\n

For now, they can only wait.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WISCONSIN (KATU) \u2014 Zookeepers at the Henry Vilas Zoo in Wisconsin cannot confirm whether Nora the polar bear…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":877993,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":["post-877992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=877992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877992\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/877993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=877992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=877992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=877992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}