Meet Yelle, The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo’s new polar bear

Yelle, a 20-year-old polar bear from Quebec, got his first glimpse at his new habitat at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo on Wednesday.

It will be a while before The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo’s new polar bear gets up close and personal with the current polar bear in residence.

Yelle is a 20-year-old polar bear who has relocated to Calgary from Quebec.

He’s passed quarantine and is now free to explore his new enclosure in the Taylor Family Foundation Polar Bear Sanctuary in Wild Canada.

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Animal care manager Paul Woerner says the new arrival will rotate through the space with current resident, Siku.

He says it will take some time before the two are allowed to be together in the habitat.

“They have had visual barriers in front of them just so that they can get used to the space,” he said.

“Yelle has the opportunity to get out into the habitat and see everything around him, so they’re very much aware of each other; they can smell each other and they hear each other, and sometimes they go up to [the slide separating them] and ‘talk’ to each other.

“They saw each other for the very first time [recently], so we’re doing slow introductions until we get to the point where they’re out together.”

Woerner says Yelle is adjusting well to his new environment and getting to know the staff. He says the polar bear is doing everything they need him to do at this point to show he’s calm in his new home and not aggressive towards 10-year-old Siku.

“Because he’s older, he’s likely going to be the bear that’s maybe not dominant in every element, but the bear probably that’s going to be able to move things around easier than [Siku] could,” said Woerner. “Siku will be likely excited to see him and see what he can get away with, and poke at him and play -- and that sort of a thing… and really, being the older guy, he’ll set the tone.”

The zoo was looking for a second bear to live with Siku because he’s always been around other polar bears.

His former partner, seven-year-old Baffin, died on July 19, 2024 after drowning during “rough play.”

A necropsy confirmed Baffin suffered a crushed trachea, causing him to lose consciousness and drown in a pool during typical sparring behavior.

“After our investigations, there’s no human error, there’s nothing that we could have done differently --and so we haven’t changed anything from that perspective,” said Woerner.

“Of course, everything comes with risks when you’re putting animals together, and whether they’re in the wild or in captivity, there are some risks, but we have a great team that’s monitoring the behavior.”

Woerner says visitors to the zoo will see a difference in the new polar bear because Yelle weighs in at 500 kilograms whereas Siku is smaller at 420 kilograms.

“As probably most people have learned, Siku is very fond of the building. He likes to use that sort of as his big house and he sits halfway into the [opening] and comes out for a few hours and then he goes back in, and he sits in his castle,” he said. “Yelle is the opposite; he likes to go inside for a few minutes and spend most of his time outside.”

Woerner says the move will be good for both polar bears because they’ve always been around others.

“My first impressions is he just seems like a great old guy,” he said. “He’s lovely; he’s really easygoing and he’s a wonderful addition to our family here.”