A new bear might be on the way to the Erie Zoo, as officials there believe Patches the polar bear is pregnant.
Last week officials said they are "cautiously optimistic" that Patches, who is in her 20s and has had two stillborn cubs in the past, could deliver later this month or in early December.
The polar bear was taken out of her exhibit and placed in a special cubbing den inside the zoo. Patches has gained weight and shown behavioral changes, and in the spring had exhibited breeding behavior with Norton, a zoo polar bear who died in September.
"We're hoping," Erie Zoo Director Scott Mitchell said this afternoon. "Patches doesn't have many more breeding seasons left, and she's never had a cub survive."
Patches had a stillborn cub at a zoo in Nebraska several years ago, and another in Erie in 2009.
Above is the photo I took on my first trip in at least a decade to the Erie Zoo in August. At the time of the photo Norton was still alive, so I don't know which bear this is.
I do think it would be wonderful news if Patches could birth a cub. It would be a wonderful way to memorialize Norton. And be such positive news for our Polar Bear exhibit, which has been plagued with sad news in recent years.
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