**COCHRANE POLAR BEAR HABITAT NEWS RELEASE**

Cochrane’s three resident polar bears are about to see – or rather, sniff – some new faces, as the Polar Bear Habitat is expecting two new temporary residents at the end of the month.

Eddy, 19, and Taiga, 9, who currently reside at the Aquarium du Quebec in Quebec City, will be relocated to Cochrane for approximately one year while their enclosure back home gets a major upgrade. 

“We are happy that we are able to help, and we’re excited about the new learning opportunities this will bring us,” says Dylan McCart, head of the Animal Care Department at the Habitat.

“The original plan was for us to house only Eddy, but when the Aquarium visited us, they liked our facility so much that they wanted to send Taiga along with him.” 

More space was required at the Habitat to accommodate the two new residents, so construction began in October to build a new bear holding building and enclosure. The funding required for the project was anonymously donated by one of the Habitat’s generous sponsors.

“We are absolutely blown away by their support,” says McCart.

Of course, more bears require more care, so the Aquarium will be sending bear keepers, who will work alongside the permanent Cochrane keepers to ensure the bears’ wellbeing.  The Aquarium will also be covering the costs of food and accommodations for Eddy and Taiga throughout their stay.

“As we are a registered non-profit charity, it is essential that funding is secured before we can help any additional polar bears,” adds McCart.

Habitat staff will work with the Aquarium to include Eddy and Taiga into their advanced training methods and non-invasive research studies. The new bears will also have access to other aspects of life in Northern Ontario, including abundant natural substrates in their enclosures, and a new diet of seal meat, seal oil, and moose.   

Eddy and Taiga have connections to the Cochrane bears – Taiga is Ganuk’s twin sister, and Inukshuk’s daughter, while Eddy, Taiga, and Ganuk all lived at the Aquarium du Quebec for about a year before Ganuk was moved to Cochrane in 2012.

Eddy and Taiga are expected to arrive in Cochrane in February. They will be visible to the public in their enclosure once they have adjusted to their new environment. During their stay at PBH, they will be housed together, but separate from the current bears.

With the two added bears bumping PBH’s total to five, this will be the most bears housed at the Cochrane facility at one time.

Eddy and Taiga are scheduled to return to Quebec by the end of 2019.

Filed under: Local News