Party for Polar Bears

Polar bear twin sisters Astra and Laerke are celebrating their 3rd birthday at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium November 18-19. Since first arriving at the zoo in June, the pair have captivated the South Sound and the entire country, with multiple videos of them going viral in the last few months. They love to polar plung– literally- and dive off their island into their fresh saltwater pool, swim in a kiddie pool in their large pool, and play with barrels and jugs of all sizes.…

It’s a long way from Tacoma, Washington, to Churchill, Manitoba: about 1,420 miles as the crow flies, at least eight hours by plane. There’s no road. In icy isolation on Canada’s Hudson Bay, it’s a world away from the lush, evergreen Puget Sound region. But it has a magic all its own. And the thing the two towns have in common? Polar bears – and people who are passionate about them. Two Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium staff members recently traveled to…

Willow, the fuzzy, spunky, six-week-old muskox calf, now lives in the large muskoxen habitat (babyproofed, of course!) with her mom, Charlotte. “She loves galloping around the grassy hillsides of the Arctic Tundra habitat, occasionally head-butting rocks and running back to mom,” said assistant curator Shannon, who helps care for the muskoxen. Willow was born to Charlotte and dad Hudson on Sept. 7, weighing about 20 pounds. She now weighs 76 pounds. That’s a long way from Hudson’s 787 pounds and…