16.11.2024 – Photos and story by Molly Merrow
It was a party weekend at the Toledo Zoo! So much fun, they had to spread it out over two days.
Mama Crystal celebrated her 26th birthday on November 10, a very rainy and foggy Sunday morning, and then her twin sons Kallu and Kallik celebrated their second birthday on Monday, November 11. The previous weekend, the Toledo Zoo treated the bears and all the other animals to Halloween pumpkins, and the bears loved them so much, they got more pumpkins for their birthdays.
In addition to the pumpkins, the polar bears also got some herring and dried seaweed, and on Monday, there was an added treat of sweet juicy watermelon.
The stage was decorated with clever birthday signs too. Many of Kallik and Kallu’s fans were on hand to sing Happy Birthday.
The three of them, mother and sons, feasted until they were full, and then on both days, Crystal climbed to the top of the viewing rock to take a nap. She is worn out from raising these two rascals and is happy to have a nap.
The party kept going for the youngsters. They played with the pieces of pumpkin, as well as flipping their favorite plastic lids around. They had some splashy battles in the water and chased each other around.
Kallu carrying a piece of pumpkin
Sometimes they would return to the party room for more snacks, and then it was back to playing. At one point, one of the cubs scrambled up to the top of the viewing rock for mom’s protection, but brother followed and after some wrestling, one cub pushed the other off the cliff into the water followed by a big splash. Then it was back to playing.
Kallu, who has always been the bigger cub, weighs in at 731 pounds, and tends to stay close to his mom. His brother Kallik is petite at 607 pounds, independent and adventurous, usually off on his own when the brothers aren’t playing together. Mother Crystal is in the middle at 623 pounds, and she is still allowing them to nurse.
Crystal, who was born in Belgium, has given birth to three sets of twins and three single cubs, making a total of nine cubs. Kallik and Kallu will be her last. She is the mother or grandmother of just about all the younger generation of US polar bears, which has been a problem for some time, to find unrelated mates for Crystal’s cubs.
She is looking forward to some peace and quiet in her retirement. For now, the boys are still with her, but they are very good at entertaining each other so she does get her rest. The twins are just about old enough to move on to another zoo. There is no word on where they will go, or whether they will go together.
The polar bear cubs’ father Nuka has returned to neighboring Detroit, where he lives with one of Crystal’s daughters, Suka.
The Toledo Zoo is also home to nine month old African Elephant baby Kirkja, daughter of Renee. She likes to play with the giant balls floating in her pond.
Another cute baby is Murphy, an adorable snow leopard child who is five months old. He likes to climb trees, and spends a lot of time on the big rock where he can watch everyone.
It was so much fun celebrating birthdays at the Toledo Zoo last weekend, and a good number of fans showed up to sing Happy Birthday to the boys. The bears are probably wondering why they aren’t getting pumpkins every day now.
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