Playing & Flirting in Seneca....Zero & Aurora

Hier haben wir wieder Zero, nun in Seneca, wo er bereits am 21. Januar angekommen war, der Öffentlichkeit und Presse wurde er allerdings erst letzten Freitag vorgestellt, und zwar schon zusammen mit Aurora. Zero scheint den Umzug gut verkraftet zu haben und wie man sieht, ist es bereits zu Annäherungen mit Aurora gekommen...
Zero the polar bear arrives in town

Whether they were just playing together or engaged in some serious flirting, Zero and Aurora were at the center of attention Friday.

Zero — all 1,150 pounds of him — is the latest addition to the Seneca Park Zoo, having recently arrived from the Milwaukee County Zoo. He made his Rochester debut at a news conference unveiling him to the public.

Aurora, who had been the only polar bear here until Zero's arrival, seemed delighted to have a new companion as they frolicked together in the zoo's Rocky Coasts exhibition area.

"Cubs are certainly the long-term goal of this couple," said Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks at a news conference at the zoo.

She went on to say: "Is there any better time of the year to announce a great relationship than Valentine's Day?"

Zero was recommended for the Seneca Park Zoo by the Polar Bear Species Survival Plan, a conservation breeding program of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

In Milwaukee, Zero and his mate had not been able to produce offspring, but the hope is that Zero will find fatherhood here.

After the introductory comments were made at Friday's news conference, the 20-year-old Zero entered the exhibition area and chased Aurora before they fell in the water together.

Aurora, who is about the same age as Zero but half his weight, has been without a mate since August 2008, when Yukon the polar bear died.

But Aurora made it clear that she was not bullied and that she'd get her fair share of some fish given to the couple in a block of ice.

"He'd get close to it and she'd charge at him," said Veronica Siaca, 21 of Rochester.

Claiming that Aurora was playing hard to get, Siaca added: "He has not quite figured out how to approach her."

Siaca's fiancé, Ryan Douglas, 27, of Rochester, blamed Zero for lacking "swagger" and not standing firm.

"He's a teddy bear, not a polar bear," Douglas said.

Source: here, see video here

A big thank you to Pam from Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester who sent me the photo of Zero and the link to the article...