700-Pound Polar Bear Finds New Home In Minnesota

Where does a 700-pound polar bear call home? If you were hoping for a punchline, sorry to disappoint, but that was a literal question. And the answer is Minnesota.

A Polar Arrival in the North Star State

Astra, a four-year-old female polar bear, arrived this weekend at the Como Zoo in St. Paul from the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington. Her new home is the Polar Bear Odyssey, an award-winning $15 million habitat featuring over 13,000 square feet of outdoor space that meets and exceeds the most stringent animal welfare standards.

Expanding the Como Zoo’s Polar Family

Now home to four polar bears, Astra, Kulu, Nan, and Neil, the Como Zoo continues its long commitment to protecting this threatened species. As part of the Polar Bear Population Alliance, the zoo works to maintain a sustainable and genetically diverse polar bear population in the United States.

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Astra spent her first days in quarantine, adjusting to her new surroundings. But, the Como Zoo says she made her public debt today, swimming in the deep-water side of Polar Bear Odyssey.

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Once Astra is settled, she’ll be paired with Kulu, a five-year-old male, with hopes that the two will hit it off and, eventually, make some cubs—someone cue Marvin Gaye.

Her roommates, Nan (30) and Neil (29), are among the oldest polar bears in North America and represent part of the Como Zoo’s 40-year legacy of caring for this majestic species.