Captive polar bears take first dip in new Ont. lake habitat

Polar bears Ganuk and Henry took their first dip in the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat’s lake Tuesday.

It was a good day for a swim for Ganuk and Henry.

The two polar bears took their first dip in the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat’s lake Tuesday, swimming around and exploring their space.

The facility, located in the town of Cochrane, Ont. is the world’s only captive bear facility dedicated to polar bears. It consists of five hectares of space, and is the world’s largest polar-bear habitat enclosure. The natural spring-fed lake, which just recently opened, is nearly 22 metres deep in one area, and will freeze over in the winter.

Ganuk, 6, and Henry, 3, are exploring the lake and seem to enjoy their new digs, said habitat manager Karen Cummings.

“They have been doing things like diving under the water and staying under the water,” Cummings said. “They just can’t do that in a pool in a man-made facility.”

Cummings said the lake has “all kinds of natural enrichment” for the bears, including fish, beavers, foxes and loons.

The federal and provincial governments, as well as the town of Cochrane, contributed funding for the project.

There are three viewing points for the enclosure, and the public can also tune to the habitat’s live webcams to watch the bears anytime.

Dylan McCart, a conservation coordinator at the bear habitat, said the enclosures facilitate staff research on polar bear behaviour.

“We keep track of everything that they are doing throughout the day and correlate that with weather (and) which enclosure they’re in,” McCart said in an interview on CTV’s News Channel Wednesday.

McCart said the bear keepers also have “training techniques” to ensure the bears are comfortable, both in their holding area and while they’re exploring their habitat.

“We try to build a relationship with our bears so they always feel comfortable with us,” he said.

Cochrane Mayor Peter Politis said the enclosure is the “perfect opportunity” to study the lakes and to learn more about climate change, learn more about those bears.”

With files from CTV Northern Ontario’s Natalie Van Rooy