The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

Project Polar Bear Teen Leadership Camp 2011

Caitlynn Turner, who has been the Cincinnati Zoo's volunteen blogger for the past two years,  was our CZBG Teen Arctic Ambassador for 2011.  She spent a week in the tundra near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, attending Teen Leadership Camp sponsored by Polar Bears International (PBI), the world’s leading polar bear conservation group. CREW selected Caitlynn based on her past outreach and community involvement in PBI’s Project Polar Bear 2010 Contest and her dedicated commitment to the Zoo’s Teen volunteer program.  She joined 12 other teens plus two young adults from across the U.S. and Canada.

Learn more about Caitlynn and Project Polar Bear >

Read Caitlynn's Teen Leadership Camp Blog Posts >

Project Polar Bear 2010 Summary

Read the blog post by Bernadette Plair, CREW

Winner Announcement Video

CREW Links Zoo with Polar Bears International as an Arctic Ambassador Center

With CREW’s expanding involvement in polar bear research, conservation and education and the Zoo’s progress in going green, it was a natural next-step to formally name the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden one of Polar Bears International’s official Arctic Ambassador Centers. PBI Arctic Ambassador Centers are organizations endorsed by leading polar bear scientists and the AZA for actively engaging in saving polar bear habitat through greenhouse gas reductions within their organizations and communities. As such, CREW and the Zoo are committed to: 1) providing information about climate change to the local community on Zoo grounds, on the website and through special programs, 2) actively reducing our own carbon emissions and 3) maintaining our polar bears in an exhibit that meets all AZA standards.

In return, we receive: 1) access to educational materials and biofacts from PBI, 2) support from PBI staff, 3) special opportunities for social networking and public relations and, perhaps most important, 4) the opportunity to engage in several unique PBI education programs. Two such programs include “Project Polar Bear” and “Teen Leadership Camp”, and CREW has wasted no time jumping into both.

We did it! The 2011 Polar Bear Challenge Raised $50,374!

These dollars will help us learn more about these magnificent animals. CREW scientists are hoping their work will help to: 1) distinguish true pregnancy from pseudopregnancy, 2) determine the efficacy and longevity of different contraceptives in female bears, 3) ascertain potential effects of different latitudes and climates on the timing of peak reproductive performance, and 4) establish a polar bear sperm bank to guard against the loss of genetic diversity. This is the second year of a generous three year challenge grant from the Shumaker Family Foundation. If we raise $35,000 each year, the Shumaker Family Foundation will grant us an additional $35,000 to continue our invaluable research to help save these endangered polar bears. Learn more about the Challenge?

CREW is Saving Species with Science®.

Through the use of assisted reproduction and sound scientific technologies, CREW scientists in the Animal Research Division are Saving Species with Science®. CREW's research results broaden our knowledge and understanding of animal biology, increases genetic diversity among captive populations, connects captive and wild populations and conserves imperiled animals in their natural environment.

Predicting Polar Bear Pregnancy

High neonatal mortality and poor overall reproductive success in captive polar bears threaten the genetic health and long-term viability of this species in zoos. Furthermore, population management by the Species Survival Plan (SSP) is particularly challenging because of the pronounced seasonality of this species and associated timing of breeding and cubbing seasons. CREW scientists discovered a method for noninvasively monitoring the reproductive status of polar bears through fecal hormone analyses and have recently completed a nationwide project studying polar bears in breeding situations.

The results of this project have led to a better understanding of the species' basic biology, and from a more practical perspective, a method for possible pregnancy diagnosis in polar bears. Specifically, the results of this study will 1) assist the SSP in its population management decisions so that females with greater chances of becoming pregnant are paired with genetically diverse males, 2) facilitate zoos' efforts to manage their bears for reproductive success by making sure potentially pregnant bears are appropriately denned up and not disturbed during the cubbing season, and 3) improve the overall welfare of captive bears by ensuring that non-pregnant bears are not maintained in dens when they would rather be outside swimming all winter.