Two sister polar bears were caught on camera having a pool party, frolicking in the water at a Washington zoo.
The twin bears, named Astra and Laerke, can be seen playing together with a half-submerged paddling pool that one of the pair had dragged into their larger swimming pool at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington.
“Have you ever swam in a pool in a pool?” Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium said in the video caption on Facebook. “Polar bear twins Astra and Laerke dragged their plastic pool into their regular pool for some extra entertainment.”
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington
Polar bears are native to the Arctic Circle. This species is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, due to their population declining as a result of habitat loss and receding ice coverage. The global population is thought to be between 22,000 and 31,000.
“Polar bear cubs and young adult bears are very playful in the wild. They run, pounce, tumble, and play-wrestle with each other. Young adult bears or sub-adult bears are about 3 to 5 years old. Cubs are 2 years or younger,” Stephanie Rager, staff biologist at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium and member of the polar bear care team, told Newsweek.
“We see the same playful behaviors with our twin polar bears,” Rager said. “Astra loves throwing toys into her deep saltwater pool and then jumping in after them. On Sunday, Astra threw her pumpkin into the pool, jumped in after it, and then began batting it around to the delight of our guests.”
The bears were reunited only in April this year after being separated shortly after birth. The pair were born in Detroit Zoo in November 2020 to their mother, Suka, but Laerke was raised separately due to their mom rejecting her. The young bear had been removed temporarily due to a medical emergency, but by the time Laerke was returned to the family, her mother refused to recognize her as her own.
Laerke was raised on her own for the first two years of her life, with only an abandoned grizzly bear named Jebbie for company. Since their reunion in April, however, the two sisters have been inseparable.
“Twin sisters, Astra and Laerke, love playing together, especially in the water,” Rager said. “They are closely bonded and get along very well. The girls will play-wrestle and splash. Then they need to take a break from each other and rest for awhile. And then they are back to their energetic and playful behavior.”
Laerke and Astra are two of several polar bears in captivity across the country: as of 2022, there were 61 polar bears living in captivity across 26 North American
institutions, according to U.K.-based animal-rights charity Born Free.
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