THE BULLETIN • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 A3
TODAY
LOCAL, STATE & REGION
OREGON ZOO
When polar bear Nora returns,
a vastly upgraded exhibit awaits
BY KALE WILLIAMS
The Oregonian
When Nora, the fan-favorite
polar bear who departed the
Oregon Zoo in 2017, returns
to Portland next month, she’ll
come back to a very different
space than she left.
The new exhibit, called Po-
lar Passage, represents the
zoo’s commitment to conser-
vation, research and animal
welfare, according to Amy
Cutting, a curator at the zoo.
“We really wanted to focus
on increasing scientific liter-
acy,” Cutting said.
Some of the aesthetic up-
grades will be obvious to any-
one who visited the old ex-
hibit, which was built in the
mid-’80s.
Gone are the tall rock walls
that surrounded the two pub-
lic-facing yards in the old hab-
itat. In their place, two open
yards will give Nora four times
as much space as she previ-
ously had. Where before the
polar bears walked on con-
crete, they’ll now plant their
paws on soft dirt and grass,
which was being seeded last
week.
Polar Passage features two
salt-water pools, one of them
14 feet deep with opportuni-
ties for zoo goers to see Nora
both above and below the wa-
terline. The new exhibit has
hills at the center of each yard
so the bears will be able to look
out over the surrounding zoo
grounds, now able to see the
chimps and orangutans that
before they could only smell
with their powerful noses.
Just as the bears will be able
to see out, people will be able
to see in. Nora, and any bears
that join her in the future, will
be viewable from almost all
sides as opposed to the few
viewing windows where zoo
guests clamored for a glimpse
of Nora in the previous space.
Construction of Polar Pas-
sage is one of the final projects
made possible by a $125 mil-
lion bond package passed by
Portland voters in 2008.
On the cutting edge
The Oregon Zoo has long
been on the cutting edge of
conservation science with cap-
tive animals, especially polar
bears. Working with Conrad
and Tasul, the brother-and-sis-
ter polar bears that lived at the
zoo before Nora’s arrival, keep-
ers at the zoo became the first
in the world to successfully
draw blood from the danger-
ous beasts without first anes-
thetizing them.
The zoo became home to a
Dave Killen/The Oregonian file
Nora the polar bear cub plays at the Oregon Zoo in this archive photo. In a new exhibit, Nora — and any
bears that join her in the future — will be viewable from almost all sides as opposed to the few viewing win-
dows where zoo guests clamored for a glimpse of Nora in the previous space.
one-of-a-kind swim chamber
capable of calculating a po-
lar bear’s oxygen intake while
walking and swimming. Biol-
ogists from the U.S. Geologi-
cal Survey outfitted Tasul with
a collar to gather data about
the bear’s movements to aid in
studying wild bears.
That legacy will continue
in the new exhibit. One of the
few remnants of the old habi-
tat is a small room where the
same swim chamber remains.
Researchers already have ten-
tative plans to return to work
with Nora.
But the work that led to the
monumental blood draw in
2011 all happened behind the
scenes. Over months, keepers
worked with Tasul to get her
comfortable putting her paw
in a modular box affixed to
one of the gates in an area out
of public view.
That work in the future will
happen out in the open. In an
area the zoo is calling the Arc-
tic Science Center, keepers will
now do those training exer-
cises in full view of zoo goers
under a memorial to Tasul and
Conrad.
“I’m excited to bring that
back-of-house experience to
the public,” Cutting said.
That type of research is im-
portant for a variety of rea-
sons. Polar bears are extremely
difficult to study in the wild,
which is where they face the
greatest threats.
As climate change warms
the Arctic, the sea ice that the
bears use to hunt is rapidly di-
minishing.
Cutting said making that
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connection, from polar bears
like Nora to the plight her wild
counterparts face, will be front
and center at the zoo’s new ex-
hibit.
“These animals are real, and
they are special, and they are
important,” Cutting said.
Though the new exhibit has
enough space for up to five
bears, Nora will be alone when
she arrives in March. Then,
Cutting said, Nora will likely
be joined by another bear later
this year.
The new exhibit is ex-
pected to open to the public
in mid-April after Nora un-
dergoes a customary 30-day
quarantine.
It’s Sunday, Feb. 28, the 59th day
of 2021. There are 306 days left in
the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
In 2013, Benedict XVI became the
first pope in 600 years to resign,
ending an eight-year pontificate.
Benedict was succeeded the fol-
lowing month by Pope Francis.
In 1784, John Wesley, the
co-founder of Methodism, char-
tered the first Methodist Church
in the United States in Leesburg,
Virginia.
In 1849, the California gold rush
began in earnest as regular steam-
ship service started bringing
gold-seekers to San Francisco.
In 1953, scientists James D.
Watson and Francis H.C. Crick an-
nounced they had discovered the
double-helix structure of DNA.
In 1975, 42 people were killed in
London’s Underground when a
train smashed into the end of a
tunnel.
In 1993, a gun battle erupted at a
religious compound near Waco,
Texas, when Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms agents
tried to arrest Branch Davidian
leader David Koresh on weapons
charges; four agents and six
Davidians were killed as a 51-day
standoff began.
In 1996, Britain’s Princess Diana
agreed to divorce Prince Charles.
Their 15-year marriage officially
ended in August 1996; Diana died
in a car crash in Paris a year after
that.
In 2005, in Santa Maria, California,
the prosecution and defense gave
opening statements in the sexual
SARA KREMPEL
molestation trial of Michael Jack-
son, who was later acquitted.
Ten years ago: The United States
and European allies intensified
efforts to isolate Libya’s Moammar
Gadhafi, redoubling demands for
him to step down, questioning
his mental state and warning that
those who stayed loyal to him
risked losing their wealth and fac-
ing prosecution for human rights
abuses.
Five years ago: “Spotlight” won
the Academy Award for best
picture of 2015; Brie Larson was
recognized as best actress for
“Room” while Leonardo DiCaprio
was named best actor for “The
Revenant.”
One year ago: The number of
countries touched by the coronavi-
rus climbed to nearly 60; Nigerian
authorities reported the first case
in sub-Saharan Africa, and Mexico
said it had two confirmed cases.
Today’s Birthdays: Architect
Frank Gehry is 92. Actor-direc-
tor-dancer Tommy Tune is 82. Hall
of Fame auto racer Mario Andretti
is 81. Actor Frank Bonner is 79.
Actor Mercedes Ruehl is 73. Actor
Bernadette Peters is 73. Former
Energy Secretary Steven Chu is
73. Comedian Gilbert Gottfried
is 66. Actor John Turturro is 64.
Rock singer Cindy Wilson is 64. Ac-
tor Rae Dawn Chong is 60. Rock
singer Pat Monahan is 52. Actor
Rory Cochrane is 49. Actor Ali
Larter is 45. Country singer Jason
Aldean is 44. Actor Geoffrey Arend
is 43. MLB relief pitcher Aroldis
Chapman is 33. Actor Quinn She-
phard is 26.
— The Associated Press
“Give every day the chance
to become the most
beautiful of your life.”
- Mark Twain
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